y 


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BUDDHISM  AND  BUDDHISTS 
IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 


THE  WORLD’S  LIVING  RELIGIONS 


EDITED  BY 

FRANK  KNIGHT  SANDERS 
and 

HARLAN  PAGE  BEACH 


A  series  of  concise  yet  reliable  presentations  of  the 
actual  religious  life  of  the  non-Christian  peoples  of 
today  and  of  Christianity’s  approach  to  them 


VOLUMES 

The  Religion  of  Lower  Races  as  illustrated  by  the  African 
Bantu  ( now  ready) 

Primitive  Religion  in  Southeastern  Asia 
Hinduism  in  the  Life  of  India 

Buddhism  and  Buddhists  in  Southern  Asia  ( now  ready) 

Foism  and  the  Buddhists  of  China  (in  preparation) 

Present  Day  Buddhism  in  Japan 
Present  Day  Confucianism 
Islam  and  Its  Followers 

Roman  Christianity  in  Latin  America  (in  preparation) 
Christianity  and  the  World  Religions 


BUDDHISM  and  BUDDHISTS 
IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 


BY 

KENNETH  J.  SAUNDERS 

Professor  of  the  History  of  Religion  and  Missions  in  the  Pacific 
School  of  Religion,  Berkeley,  California,  Lecturer  in  the 
University  of  California,  Author  of  “Ootama  Buddha,” 

“The  Story  of  Buddhism ,”  etc.,  Honorary  Literary 
Secretary  of  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Asso¬ 
ciation  in  India,  Burma  and  Ceylon. 


/2eto  got* 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1923 


All  rights  reserved 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


Copyright,  1923, 

By  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 

Set  up  and  printed.  Published  May,  1923. 


Press  of 

J.  J.  Little  &  Ives  Company 
New  York,  U.  S.  A. 


The  Committee  of  Reference  and  Counsel  of  the  Foreign 
Missions  Conference  of  North  America  has  authorized  the 
publication  of  this  series.  The  author  of  each  volume  is 
alone  responsible  for  the  opinions  expressed,  unless  other¬ 
wise  stated. 


PREFACE 


This  little  volume,  in  a  much  shorter  form,  was  pre¬ 
pared  early  in  1921  by  Professor  Saunders  in  response 
to  an  invitation  from  an  editorial  committee,  representing 
the  Board  of  Missionary  Preparation  of  the  Foreign  Mis¬ 
sions  Conference  of  North  America.  Being  unavoidably 
delayed  in  publication  in  North  America,  it  was  released 
for  publication  as  Part  I  of  “Buddhism  in  the  Modern 
World/7  published  by  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian 
Knowledge,  London,  England.  As  now  issued,  however, 
the  material  has  been  so  thoroughly  revised  and  enlarged 
that  it  may  fairly  be  regarded  as  another  presentation 
of  the  theme. 

Like  the  other  volumes  in  the  series  on  the  World’s 
Living  Beligions,  it  aims  to  introduce  Western  readers 
to  the  real  religious  life  of  each  great  region  of  the  non- 
Christian  world,  in  order  that  they  may  come  to  under¬ 
stand  its  hold  upon  the  people  of  that  area.  Such  a 
religion  must  minister  in  some  degree,  however  im¬ 
perfectly,  to  their  religious  needs,  or  it  would  not  retain 
its  place  of  influence.  Missionaries,  in  particular,  need 
this  understanding.  One  who  comes  to  realize  and  to 
appreciate  the  extent  and  the  quality  of  the  service  which 
a  non-Christian  religion  renders  is  a  far  abler  interpreter 
of  Christianity  to  the  people  professing  that  religion  than 
one  who  approaches  them  with  no  adequate  conception  of 
their  expression  of  religious  feeling  and  with  something 
of  the  attitude  of  a  crusader. 

Professor  Saunders  spent  over  ten  years  in  quite  in¬ 
timate  contract  with  the  Buddhist  peoples  of  Southern  and 

•  • 

Yll 


vm 


PREFACE 


Eastern  Asia.  This  contact  brought  him  into  a  close 
acquaintance  with  the  real  leaders  of  Buddhism.  It  has 
given  him  a  friendly  viewpoint  and  a  vividness  in  inter¬ 
pretation  which  all  who  seek  to  know  more  about  Bud¬ 
dhism  and  Buddhists  will  welcome.  He  emphasizes  its 
strong  features  but  only  to  voice  his  own  conviction  that 
these  are  a  means  of  opening  a  pathway  from  Buddhism 
to  Christianity. 

Modern  missions  have  proved  abundantly  the  value  of 
the  sympathetic  approach.  The  missionary  may  always 
be  candid ;  but  he  does  not  have  to  assume  an  attitude  of 
criticism  or  of  hostility.  Christianity  may  virtually  an¬ 
nihilate  a  South  Sea  Islander’s  superstitions;  it  cannot 
succeed  in  setting  aside  an  historical  religion,  like  Bud¬ 
dhism  or  Islam,  by  any  such  process.  It  conquers  by  com¬ 
parison,  and  by  showing  that  it  fulfils  the  best  aspira¬ 
tions  of  such  religions.  The  followers  of  Christ  can 
afford  to  recognize  fully  the  truths  that  lie  at  the  heart 
of  every  great  religion  and  the  elements  which  nurture  the 
religiously-minded  among  its  adherents,  for  Christ,  when 
recognized,  is  able  to  give  them  yet  more  abundant  light 
and  life. 

The  purpose  of  each  volume  in  this  series  is  impression¬ 
istic  rather  than  definitely  educational.  This  volume  on 
the  Buddhism  of  Southern  Asia  is  in  no  sense  intended  to 
serve  as  a  basis  for  the  formal  study  of  Buddhism.  Eor 
such  study  it  provides  amply  through  the  selected  litera¬ 
ture  referred  to  in  the  Appendix.  It  rather  aims  to  kindle 
a  genuine  and  growing  interest  in  the  active  phases  of 
Buddhism  in  Southeastern  Asia,  so  that  its  readers  will 
wish  to  study  this  religion  more  in  detail.  The  discrim¬ 
inating  reader  will  be  helped  by  it  to  think  in  terms  of 
an  adherent  or  a  devotee  of  Buddhism.  It  likewise  aims 
to  make  a  fair  comparison  of  such  Buddhism  with  religion 
as  it  is  found  in  Jesus  Christ. 


PREFACE 


ix 


Buddhism,  whatever  its  drawbacks,  undoubtedly  in¬ 
cludes  among  its  adherents  many  serene  and  happy  souls. 
They  live  an  idealistic  life,  despite  the  tendencies  about 
them  which  destroy  ideals.  Christianity  ought  to  make 
a  strong  appeal  to  such  partially  enlightened  minds,  rob¬ 
bing  them  of  no  light-heartedness,  but  promoting  a 
broader,  truer,  better  balanced  attitude  toward  life,  a 
nobler  conception  of  God  and  Plis  world,  a  stronger  sense 
of  sinfulness,  and  a  truer  conception  of  their  own  rela¬ 
tion  to  things  divine  and  to  one  another. 

It  is  our  hope  that  this  uniquely  fresh  contribution  to 
the  understanding  of  Buddhism  as  it  is  today  may  be 
found  helpful  to  a  large  circle  of  readers. 

The  Editors 

New  York  City 
January ,  1923 . 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Introductory .  1 

II.  Buddhism  in  Burma .  3 

1.  At  the  Great  Pagoda  in  Rangoon  ....  3 

(a)  A  monastic  school .  4 

(b)  Its  moral  teaching .  4 

( c )  Its  religious  instruction .  5 

( d )  The  importance  of  the  monks  ...  6 

(e)  The  worshiping  throng .  8 

(/)  Women  at  worship .  9 

2.  The  Religious  Values  of  Every-day  Buddhism  10 

(a)  What  Buddhism  means  to  Burmese 

women  10 

(b)  What  it  means  for  Burmese  men  .  .  13 

( c )  Buddhism  and  little  children  ....  14 

( d )  The  attitude  of  educated  Burmese  .  .  15 

( e )  Other  aspects  of  Burmese  Buddhism  .  16 

3.  Christianity’s  Progress  in  Burma  ....  17 

(a)  The  Burmese  are  naturally  religious  .  18 

(b)  They  tend  to  view  Gotama  as  a  Savior  19 

(c)  The  Christian  heaven  is  more  attractive 

than  Nibbdna . 19 

( d )  Christianity  imparts  a  needed  sense  of 

spiritual  freedom . 20 

4.  The  Christianity  Which  May  Prevail  ...  20 

(a)  Moral  conditions  in  Burma  call  for  re¬ 

form  . 21 

(b)  Loving  social  service  opens  a  way  .  .  22 

5.  Buddhism’s  Last  Stand  in  Burma  ....  22 

III.  Buddhism  in  Ceylon . 24 

1.  How  Buddhism  is  Propagated . 25 

(a)  A  festal  day  at  the  Temple  of  the  Tooth 

in  Kandy . 25 

( b )  The  hillside  preacher  . . . 26 

(c)  The  schools  for  instruction  ....  28 

xi 


Xll 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

2.  The  Hold  of  Buddhism  upon  the  Sinhalese  . 

(a)  On  the  peasantry . 

(b)  On  the  more  intelligent  laity  .... 

3.  Buddhism  as  a  Cultured  Sinhalese  Sees  It  . 

(a)  The  appeal  of  its  impressive  past  . 

( b )  The  appeal  of  its  social  efficiency  . 

(c)  Its  advocacy  of  high  social  standards  . 

4.  The  Marked  Contrasts  among  Buddhists  Today 

5.  Christianity’s  Approach  to  the  Sinhalese  Bud¬ 

dhists  . 

IY.  Buddhism  in  Siam . 

1.  Siam  a  Buddhist  Kingdom . 

2.  Public  Worship  in  Siam . 

3.  The  Thot  Krathin  Festival  ...... 

4.  The  Wats  or  Temples . 

5.  The  King  and  Pali  Learning . 

6.  Buddhist  Education . 

7.  Christianity’s  Outlook  in  Siam . 

Y.  Three  Typical  Funeral  Scenes . 

1.  The  Funeral  Bites  of  a  Burmese  Monk  .  . 

2.  The  Cremation  of  a  Sinhalese  Abbot  . 

3.  The  Funeral  of  a  Siamese  Prince  .... 

4.  The  Beal  Heart  of  Buddhism . 

YI.  Buddhism  as  a  Living  Beligion . 

1.  Some  of  the  Ways  in  which  Buddhism  Be- 

sembles  Christianity . . 

(a)  Buddhism  has  an  appeal  to  the  mind.  . 
\b)  It  recognizes  the  fact  of  human  suffering 

(c)  It  promises  a  way  of  escape  from  sorrow 

( d )  Its  founder  diagnosed  and  sought  to 

cure  world  evil . 

(e)  It  cultivates  a  sense  of  the  worthlessness 

of  temporal  things . 

(/)  Its  conception  of  bliss  is  realizable  in 

this  life . 

( g )  It  is  a  religion  which  calls  for  the  use 
of  judgment  . . 


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CONTENTS 


xui 


chapter 

,  (h)  It  lias  noble  ethical  teachings  .  .  . 

(1)  The  “Four  Noble  Truths”  .  . 

|  (2)  The  “Eight-fold  Path” 

( i )  It  has  come  to  practice  prayer  . 

2.  Respects  in  which  Buddhism  at  its  Best  is 
Patently  Inferior  to  Christianity  . 

I  (a)  It  emphasizes  stoical  self-mastery 
\(b)  It  has  two  standards  of  morality  .  . 

'(c)  It  has  a  low  estimate  of  womanhood 

YII.  The  Missionary  Approach  to  Buddhism  in  South¬ 
ern  Asia . 

1.  Buddhism  with  which  Missionaries  Deal  is  Not 

the  Theoretical  Buddhism  of  Gotama  . 

2.  Its  Central  Emphasis  Varies  in  the  Three 

Southern  Countries . 

3.  The  Qualities  of  Missionaries  to  Southern  Asia 

(a)  Clear  Christian  convictions  . 

( b )  A  willingness  to  appreciate  new  aspects 

of  old  truth . 

(c)  An  attitude  of  sympathy . 

(d)  A  sense  of  beauty  and  of  humor  . 

4.  The  Greatness  of  the  Opportunity  .  .  .  . 

Appendix  One,  Hints  for  Preliminary  Reading  .  .  .  . 
Appendix  Two,  A  Brief  Bibliography . 


PAGE 

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62 


62 


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64 

65 
65 

65 

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69 

71 


BUDDHISM  AND  BUDDHISTS 
IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 


BUDDHISM  AND  BUDDHISTS 
IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 


i 

INTRODUCTORY 

Buddhism,  like  Christianity  and  Islam,  is  the  religion 
of  more  than  one  people.  It  holds  sway  over  a  very  large 
part  of  the  human  race  today,  and  aims  at  becoming  uni¬ 
versal.  Some  writers  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  its  ad¬ 
herents  number  one  half  of  the  teeming  millions  of  Asia, 
and  one  third  of  the  population  of  the  globe.  From  its 
beginning,  more  than  twenty-four  centuries  ago,  until 
now,  Buddhism  has  been  an  Asiatic  religion.  Though 
the  India  which  gave  it  birth  has  only  a  negligible  num¬ 
ber  of  Buddhists  at  the  present  time,  yet  in  Ceylon  to 
the  south,  in  Burma,  Siam  and  eastward  to  the  China 
Sea,  and  in  Nepal,  Tibet  and  far  beyond  to  the  utmost 
limits  of  Mongolia,  Korea,  China  and  Japan  Buddhism 
is  the  ruling  religion  of  the  peoples. 

Buddhism,  like  Christianity,  is  a  religion  which  gets 
its  hold  upon  men  through  its  idealism.  It  demands 
moral  conduct  and  concerns  itself  with  the  hereafter.  It 
looks  upon  human  life  as  a  time  of  discipline  or  prepara¬ 
tion  and  of  growth.  It  is  a  serious  rival  of  Christianity 
because  in  some  respects,  when  at  its  best,  it  is  found  to 
resemble  Christianity. 

Buddhism  is  not  everywhere  the  same.  Quite  early  in 

1 


2  BUDDHISM  IN'  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

its  history  it  developed  two  schools  of  interpretation.  One 
of  them  which  looks  on  immediate  salvation  as  attainable 
by  all  who  sincerely  seek  it  calls  itself  Mahayana  or  the 
“Great  Vehicle.”  It  is  the  type  of  Buddhism  which  pre¬ 
vails  in  Tibet,  Mongolia,  China  and  Japan.  The  other 
type  is  called  by  this  school  the  Hinaydna  or  “Little  Ve¬ 
hicle,”  for  it  tends  to  restrict  present  salvation  to  a  select 
few.  Of  this  latter  type  is  the  Buddhism  of  Southeastern 
Asia.  In  their  general  attitude  toward  life  and  the 
future  the  two  schools  agree,  though  the  Mahayana  makes 
more  of  Paradise  than  of  Nirvana  and  regards  the  monk 
seeking  his  own  salvation  as  selfish. 

The  people  of  Southeastern  Asia  are  religious.  The 
Burmese  especially  take  their  religion  seriously  yet  very 
happily.  The  endless  series  of  acts  of  devotion  demanded 
by  Buddhism  do  not  seem  to  be  regarded  as  an  unmiti¬ 
gated  burden,  but  rather,  in  some  respects  at  least,  as 
adding  to  the  joy  of  life.  To  appreciate  the  real  part 
which  the  religion  plays  in  the  everyday  life  of  a  Bud¬ 
dhist  community  requires  sympathetic  and  painstaking 
consideration. 


II 


BUDDHISM  IN  BURMA 

1.  At  the  Great  Pagoda  in  Rangoon 

Approaching  the  city  of  Rangoon,  the  famous  capital 
of  Burma,  the  attention  of  a  newcomer  will  at  once  be 
drawn  to  the  stately  and  splendid  structure,  rising  high 
above  the  city  itself,  which  typifies  the  ascendancy  of  the 
Buddhist  faith  and  gives  glorious  expression  to  its  hold 
upon  the  Burman  people.  This  is  the  great  Shwe  Dagon 
pagoda,  whose  golden  spire  amid  a  splendid  grove  of 
palms  and  forest  trees  rises  high  above  a  vast  platform, 
acres  in  extent,  crowded  with  rococo  shrines  and  jewelled 
images  of  the  Buddha.  “On  entering  the  platform  one 
feels  that  he  has  passed  suddenly  from  this  life  into  an¬ 
other  and  different  world.  It  is  not,  perhaps,  a  very 
elevated  world;  certainly  not  the  final  repose  of  the  just 
or  the  steps  of  the  throne  of  God,  but  it  does  seem  as  if 
you  were  walking  in  the  bazaars  of  Paradise.’’  Par 
below  this  strange  medley  and  its  weird  charm  lies  the 
city  with  its  teeming  multitudes,  humming  with  life  and 
busied  with  the  never-ending  struggle  for  existence.  Ris¬ 
ing  in  solemn  majesty,  disturbed  only  by  the  rustling  of 
leaves  or  the  tinkling  of  innumerable  bells,  soars  the  great 
pagoda  pinnacle,  wonderful  as  a  work  of  art,  no  less 
remarkable  as  a  symbol  of  the  majestic  dominance  of  a 
faith  in  things  unseen.  One  who  climbs  the  long  flight 
of  steps,  lined  with  tiers  of  little  shops  selling  flowers  and 
candles  and  little  images  of  Buddha,  stands  on  that  great 

3 

(/[  ^  ^ 


4 


BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 


raised  court  at  the  base  of  the  pagoda,  and  enters  into  the 
spirit  of  the  scene  before  him  will  speedily  realize  the 
phases,  good  and  bad,  of  everyday  Buddhism  in  Burma. 

(a)  A  Monastic  School . — Among  the  confusion  of 
sounds  made  by  the  thronging  worshippers,  the  visitor 
may  have  his  attention  drawn  by  the  shouting  of  a  class 
of  thirty  or  forty  boys  in  the  monastery  school  which  is  a 
part  of  the  pagoda  group.  These  pupils  will  be  seated 
on  the  floor  or  on  the  steps  around  a  kindly-looking  old 
monk  dressed  in  a  faded  yellow  robe.  He  acts  as  a  pre¬ 
centor,  announcing  a  word  or  phrase  which  they  repeat 
in  unison,  shouting  at  the  top  of  their  voices.  First,  he 
pronounces  a  word  of  Pali 1  which  they  repeat ;  then  the 
same  word  is  repeated  in  Burmese;  and,  when  a  phrase 
has  been  completed,  the  whole  of  it  is  shouted  through. 
The  phrases  must  be  droned  through  many  times,  until 
they  are  learned  by  heart ;  they  are  seldom  or  never  under¬ 
stood  ;  yet  the  teacher  from  time  to  time  furnishes  simple 
explanations  and  grammatical  notes  which  help  his  pupils 
to  appreciate  the  meaning  of  what  they  have  memorized. 
Thus,  in  the  course  of  time,  the  teachings  sink  into  their 
minds,  and  so  strong  is  the  appeal  to  their  imagination 
in  the  outward  forms  of  their  religion  that  many  are  soon 
made  staunch  and  intelligent  Buddhists. 

(h)  Its  Moral  Teaching. — A  little  inquiry  enables  the 
curious  listener  to  reach  the  conclusion  that  these  phrases, 
which  the  boys  shout  so  lustily,  are  taken  from  a  very 
popular  and  valuable  Buddhist  booklet  known  as  Mangala 
Thot.  It  is  a  summary  in  poetical  phrases  of  the  Buddhist 
beatitudes,  which  describe  the  life  the  loyal  Buddhist 
layman  ought  to  lead,  if  he  desires  happiness.  There  are 
twelve  couplets,  of  which  the  following  are  typical: 

1  The  ancient  and  still  the  classic  language  of  Southern  Buddhism, 
in  which  its  Scriptures  are  preserved.  Pali  is  used  religiously  in 
Buddhist  services,  much  as  Latin  is  used  in  Roman  Catholic  ser¬ 
vices. 


BUDDHISM  IN  BURMA 


Tend  parents,  cherish  wife  and  child. 

Pursue  a  blameless  life  and  mild; 

Do  good,  shun  ill  and  still  beware 
Of  the  red  wine’s  insidious  snare; 

Be  humble,  with  thy  lot  content. 

Grateful  and  ever  reverent. 

These  teachings  are  not  deeply  philosophical,  but  rather 
social  and  ethical.  They  deal  plainly  with  life  and  its 
duties  in  a  simple  and  straightforward  fashion,  something 
after  the  style  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs.  All  Oriental 
peoples  dearly  love  sententious  sayings  in  poetical  form; 
and  Gotama,1  the  founder  of  Buddhism,  used  this  method 
of  imparting  truth  along  with  parables  and  fables. 

(c)  Its  Religious  Instruction. — Buddhism  is  not  only 
a  body  of  moral  teachings,  but  also  a  religion  with  an 
elaborate  system  of  beliefs  which  make  very  real  demands 
upon  the  faith  of  its  worshippers.  The  Mangala  Tliot 
itself  ends  with  references  to  Nibbana  2  and  its  peace 
and  other  beliefs  are  embodied  in  the  J dtahas ,  a  strange 
medley  of  folklore  dressed  up  in  Buddhist  guise,  and 
purporting  to  be  stories  of  the  various  lives  or  existences 
of  Sakyamuni,  the  founder  of  Buddhism,  before  he  became 
the  Buddha  or  the  Enlightened  one.”  Other  beliefs  are 
conveyed  in  legends  and  hymns,  in  popular  summaries  and 
in  proverbial  sayings  which  are  in  universal  use.  It  is 
the  duty  of  the  old  monk  or  Hpongyi  to  introduce  his 
pupils  to  this  store  of  religious  knowledge  and  faith,  which 
is  at  his  own  tongue’s  end.  He  may  take  for  a  lesson 
a  short  summary  of  the  excellences  of  the  “Three  Jewels” 
of  Buddhism,  the  Buddha  himself,  the  Order  of  monks 
and  the  Law  or  teachings  which  have  been  put  into  definite 
form.  Or  he  may  choose  another  collection  which  cele- 

1  Gotama  is  the  Pali  form  of  the  Sanskrit  Gautama,  more  familiar 
to  Western  readers.  Burmese  call  him  Gaudama. 

a  Sanskrit  Nirvana,  literally  “blown  out,”  the  attainment  of  a 
state  of  beatitude  through  extinction  of  Tanhd  or  craving. 


6 


BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 


brates  in  verse  the  eight  victories  of  the  Buddha  over  his 
temporal  and  spiritual  enemies.  Some  of  these  teachings 
call  for  a  big  act  of  faith !  When  the  boys  have  mastered 
these  preliminary  books  and  the  ideas  contained  in  them, 
they  are  ready  to  take  up  for  study  the  chief  Jatakas  in 
more  detail. 

These  feed  their  growing  hero-worship  and  give  them 
an  understanding  of  the  mission  of  the  Buddha,  of  the 
way  in  which  he  became  enlightened,  and  of  what  it  meant 
for  mankind.  They  next  acquire  a  mastery  of  the  proper 
details  of  worship  and  all  the  other  varied  kinds  of  knowl¬ 
edge  which  will  prepare  them  to  play  their  part  in  the 
social  and  religious  life  of  their  country.  They  take  it 
all  very  seriously,  for  Buddhism  is  “Burma  custom.” 

(d)  The  Importance  of  the  Monks. — This  class  of  boys 
around  the  old  teacher  represents  a  system  of  religious 
education  which  covers  all  Burma  and  exerts  unbounded 
influence.  It  is  an  astonishing  fact  that  there  is  an  average 
of  almost  two  monasteries  to  every  village  in  Burma. 
They  are  a  feature  of  the  landscape,  not  towering  to  a 
great  height,  like  Shwe  Dagon,  and  seldom  decorated,  like 
that  great  pagoda,  with  gold  leaf,  but  of  white  or  brick- 
red  color  with  a  short  golden  spike  on  top  or  a  canopy  of 
bells  that  rattle  in  the  wind.  Most  of  them  are  in  dis¬ 
repair.  Only  in  the  case  of  certain  larger  sanctuaries, 
held  in  special  veneration  is  it  an  act  of  merit  to  give 
funds  for  upkeep.  Repairs  do  not  count,  as  a  rule. 
Instead  a  devotee  prefers  to  build  a  new  pagoda.  While 
the  monasteries  and  temples  constitute  an  enormous  drain 
upon  the  resources  of  the  country,  since  it  is  the  estab¬ 
lished  custom  that  no  monks  shall  take  any  part  in  the 
active  industrial  life  of  the  country,  but  live  upon  the  alms 
of  the  laity,  the  system  which  they  represent  has,  on  the 
other  hand,  made  Burma  one  of  the  most  literate  of  all  the 
lands  of  the  East,  with  a  larger  percentage  of  men  who 


BUDDHISM  IN  BURMA  v 

can  read  and  write  than  will  be  found  in  modern  Italy, 
a  result  which  is  of  real  significance.  The  importance  and 
the  influence  of  the  monks  is  very  great  indeed. 

The  Order  of  monks  stands  apart  from  the  rest  of  the 
people.  So  markedly  is  this  the  case  that  every  adolescent 
boy  is  obliged  to  spend  a  certain  time  under  the  entire  con¬ 
trol  of  the  monastic  order  and  to  go  through  some  simple 
form  of  ordination.  Till  then  he  is  not  considered,  a  full- 
fledged  human  being.  He  is  not  forced  to  remain  with 
his  new  associates  out  of  the  world,  but  the  Order  theieby 
obtains  a  very  great  advantage  in  reaching  out  after  the 
youths  its  members  really  desire  to  impress  and  to  retain. 

Under  the  circumstances  it  is  not  at  all  strange  that 
many  of  them  are  caught  by  the  lure  of  the  monastic  life 
and  the  glamour  of  the  yellow  robe.  Aet  most  of  them, 
naturally,  after  a  short  experience,  go  back  to  the  normal 
life  of  the  world,  which  seems  in  Burma  very  happy,  color¬ 
ful  and  richly  varied. 

The  young  sJiiti,  or  novice,  who  chooses  to  remain  in  a 
monastery,  may  in  due  course  become  a  recognized  member 
of  the  monastic  order.  His  ordination  is  a  great  occasion 
for  all  who  know  him,  especially  for  his  family.  At  that 
time,  dressed  in  princely  robes,  he  celebrates  the  sacrifice 
of  the  founder  of  Buddhism,  Sakyamuni,  who  abandoned 
his  royal  state  to  become  a  mendicant.  The  whole  of  that 
famous  scene  is  reproduced.  The  head  of  the  candidate 
is  shaved  and  his  gorgeous  raiment  is  taken  away ;  hence¬ 
forth  he  will  go  clad  only  in  the  yellow  robe  of  the  Bud¬ 
dhist  monks,  an  Order  older,  more  widespread  and  more 
picturesque  than  any  other  religious  order  in  the  world. 
Observers  now  say  of  him  that  he  has  i  taken  refuge  in  the 
Three  Jewels/'  Henceforth  he  follows  the  regular  life 
of  the  monk.  Daily,  with  a  group  of  others,  he  goes  out 
to  collect  food  for  the  monastery ;  as  a  junior  he  attends 
to  the  various  needs  of  the  older  monks;  he  takes  his 


8 


BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 


share  of  the  simple  household  tasks  in  the  monastery.  A 
large  portion  of  his  time,  however,  must  be  given  to  his 
studies,  until  he  has  a  good  working  knowledge  of  the  three 
“Baskets”  1  which  make  up  the  Buddhist  Canon,  i.e.,  the 
Discipline,  the  Narratives  or  Dialogues,  and  the  Higher 
Religion.  If  he  is  diligent  in  the  performance  of  all  these 
varied  duties,  he  will  in  course  of  time  receive  the  honor 
of  being  designated  as  a  teacher^  not  alone  to  groups  of 
boys,  but  among  the  people.  Such  teachers  are  held  in 
high  esteem. 

(e)  The  Worshipping  Throng. — Day  is  drawing  to  its 
close.  The  great  sun  is  going  down  and  the  pagoda, 
splendid  in  the  sunset,  as  it  changes  from  gold  to  purple 
and  from  purple  to  gray  and  then,  in  the  tropical  moon¬ 
light,  to  silver,  is  thronged  with  devout  worshippers.  The 
teacher  permits  his  boys  to  disperse  to  their  homes;  but 
he  prostrates  himself  before  the  jewelled,  alabaster  image 
of  the  Buddha.  He  acts  quite  unaware  of  the  people  who 
cluster  around  him,  paying  him  reverence  as  a  being  of 
a  superior  order.  If  he  shows  any  consciousness  of  them 
at  all,  it  accents  his  keen  sense  of  his  own  aloofness  and 
dignity.  He  is  murmuring  over  and  over  again:  Sabba 
dukhhd ,  “all  is  sorrow”  ;  Sabba  anattd ,  “all  is  without  abid¬ 
ing  entity.”  Mechanically,  the  lay-folk  repeat  after  him 
these  phrases  which  have  been  for  twenty-five  centuries 
the  Buddhist  challenge  to  the  world  of  men,  calling  them 
away  from  the  lure  of  the  senses  and  from  the  social  ties 
of  home  and  community  to  the  monastic  life.  They  seem 
to  do  this  with  great  devoutness.  How  much  it  really 
means  to  each  one  of  them  is  one  of  the  questions  which 

1The  Tipitdka  (Sanskrit,  Tripitika) ,  i.e.  (1)  Vinaya ;  (2)  Sutta; 
(3)  Abhidhamma.  One  explanation  of  the  use  of  the  term  “baskets” 
is  that  the  Pali  Scriptures  were  originally  written  on  palm  leaves 
and  preserved,  layer  upon  layer,  properly  sorted,  in  them.  Another 
explanation  claims  that  the  Buddhist  Scriptures  were  handed  on 
from  scholar  to  scholar  as  baskets  of  earth  or  of  bricks  are  handed 
on  along  a  line  of  laborers.  Neither  may  be  correct. 


BUDDHISM  IN  BURMA 


9 


puzzle  the  onlooker  in  a  Buddhist  country.  It  is  hard  to 
think  these  gay  human  butterflies  mean  that  the  world  is 
sad  and  transient,  for  it  seems  to  satisfy  them  abundantly. 
Yet  sorrow  lurks  at  hand  for  them,  as  for  us. 

(/)  Women  at  Worship. — One  way  of  testing  the  reality 
behind  these  repetitions  is  to  watch  a  group  of  women 
before  one  of  the  many  shrines  on  the  spacious  pagoda 
platform.  Here  kneels  a  young  wife  offering  strands  of 
her  hair,  and  praying  that  her  child  may  have  hair  as 
long  and  beautiful.  Near  by  is  an  unhappy  wife  who 
prays  that  her  husband  may  become  as  pure  as  the  flower 
which  she  lays  at  the  feet  of  the  Buddha.  The  Burmese 
pray  for  help  in  matters  of  daily  life  just  as  people  do 
everywhere,  unperturbed  by  the  question  whether  life  is 
transient  and  sad  in  character  or  really  worth  the  living. 
Not  far  away  is  another  characteristic  sight.  One  very 
old  and  trembling  woman,  having  bowed  to  the  huge  im¬ 
passive  image  of  the  Buddha  and  lighted  her  little  candle 
before  it,  turns  hack  to  pat  an  ancient  and  beautiful  tree, 
fearing  lest  the  nat ,  the  spirit  which  lives  within  the 
tree,  should  be  offended  by  any  lack  of  attention  from 
her.  Her  point  of  view  is  expressed  in  the  common  say¬ 
ing:  “The  spirits  are  always  malignant  and  have  to  be 
propitiated.  The  world-renowned  One,  is  he  not  benign  V ’ 
The  Burman  takes  naturally  to  such  double  loyalty,  which 
has  existed  for  hundreds  of  years.  He  strives  to  keep  the 
demands  of  the  Buddha  in  mind  and,  no  less,  the  demands 
of  the  spirits  who  are  always  hovering  about.  He  serves 
them  both  faithfully,  thinking  that  each  has  a  share  in 
making  this  life  pleasant.  He  is  most  keenly  anxious  to 
placate  those  demons  or  spirits  who,  as  he  thinks,  confer 
many  benefits  upon  men  when  properly  treated,  but  are 
capable,  if  slighted,  of  swift  and  terrible  vengeance.  Prob¬ 
ably  in  every  village  in  the  land  there  will  Ye  found  at 
least  one  pagoda  and  monastery  where  the  worship  of 


10  BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

Buddha  is  regularly  carried  on.  But  there  is  sure  to  he 
a  spirit-shrine  in  every  home.  Before  a  new  home  is  built 
or  a  marriage  is  arranged  in  the  family,  or  purchases  are 
made,  or  journeys  are  undertaken,  in  fact  in  advance  of 
every  important  undertaking,  the  proper  spirits  are  care¬ 
fully  consulted  and  appeased.  No  one  can  really  enter  into 
the  daily  life  of  the  Burmese  people  without  realizing  the 
very  definite  share  attributed  to  the  spirits  round  about. 
These  beliefs  hark  back,  of  course,  to  the  primitive  days 
before  Buddhism  was  adopted.  They  are  the  heritage  of 
the  earlier  animism  which  seems  to  have  spread  widely 
over  Asia.  Since  the  spirits  are  concerned  only  with  every¬ 
day  affairs,  the  Burmese  find  little  difficulty  in  recognizing 
them  along  with  the  requirements  of  Buddhism.  Chris¬ 
tianity,  of  course,  tends  to  rid  people  of  such  supersti¬ 
tions,  but  even  in  Christendom  there  are  still  those  to 
be  found  who  avoid  the  number  thirteen,  and  the  slightly 
educated  masses  of  some  Christian  lands  believe  in  demons 
and  ghosts.  Burma  has  been  called  the  Ireland  of  Asia 
and  not  merely  because  of  the  cheerful  inconsequence  of  its 
people ! 

2.  The  Religious  Values  of  Everyday  Buddhism 

It  must  not  be  inferred  from  this  reference  to  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  animistic  beliefs  that  Buddhism  is  a  purely 
formal  religion.  It  weaves  itself  also  intimately  into  the 
daily  life  of  the  people.  In  Burma,  as  elsewhere,  the 
strongest  appeal  of  organized  religion  is  to  the  women. 
Their  fidelity  forms  the  rocklike  foundation  on  which  rests 
the  great  power  of  the  monks.  It  will  be  of  interest,  there¬ 
fore,  to  consider  what  Buddhism  offers  to  Burmese  women. 

(a)  What  Buddhism  Means  to  Burmese  W  omen. — Bud¬ 
dhism  makes  its  appeal  to  the  women  of  Burma  in  at  least 
five  ways.  In  the  first  place,  Buddhism  is  a  strong  social 
force,  providing  many  festivals  and  giving  all  kinds  of 


11 


BUDDHISM  IN  BURMA 

color  to  everyday  life.  While  in  theory  it  may  be  sad, 
in  practice  it  is  very  cheerful.  The  Burmese  women  throw 
themselves  into  its  festivals  with  keen  enthusiasm.  They 
delight  to  gather  on  the  platform  of  the  beautiful  pagoda 
for  friendly  intercourse  and  gossip,  to  go  to  the  funerals 
of  the  monks  and  to  join  in  the  frolic  of  the  festivals. 
Buddhism  thus  provides  in  a  natural  way  the  social  inter¬ 
change  of  common  interests  and  the  relief  from  the  pres¬ 
sure  of  everyday  duties  which  all  intelligent  beings  crave. 

Another  great  source  of  enjoyment  and  instruction, 
enlarging  and  brightening  everyday  life,  is  provided  by 
Buddhism  in  the  universal  custom  of  telling  over  and  over 
again  the  well-known  stories  about  the  Buddha  and  the 
embryo  Buddhas  or  Bodhisattvas.  These  stories  often  con¬ 
tain  the  miraculous ;  they  always  have  a  moral  value.  One 
of  the  story-pictures  in  which  the  women  take  great  delight 
tells  how  Gotama  when  he  was  a  hare  jumped  into  the 
fire  to  feed  a  hungry  Brahmin.  Another  picture,  more 
familiar  and  more  poignant  still,  depicts  his  appearance 
as  Prince  Yessantara,  giving  away  his  wife  and  beloved 
children  to  a  hunchback  beggar,  that  he  might  win  through 
to  Nibbana.  These  stories  exert  an  immense  influence 
toward  inculcating  a  spirit  of  generosity  and  self-sacrifice. 
Moreover,  no  woman  would  question  the  husband’s  right  to 
dispose  of  his  family  in  this  way !  All  these  stories  are 
a  part  of  the  Buddhist  scheme  of  public  religious  training, 
which  is  admirably  adapted  to  kindle  the  imagination  and 
to  inspire  devotion. 

Again,  Burmese  women  have  great  reverence  for  the 
Order  of  monks  and  all  that  it  represents.  How  wise  and 
good  and  holy  these  men  seem  to  them  to  he !  “Are  they 
not  custodians  of  the  truth  V’  one  woman  says  to  another. 
“Yes,  and  the  harvest-field  of  merit  (Kutho)  ’  she  re¬ 
plies.  The  women  cheerfully  obey  the  commands  laid 
upon  them  hy  these  men.  On  the  great  pagoda  platform 


12  BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

one  may  see  a  little  woman  lifting  a  heavy  stone  which 
weighs  probably  forty  pounds.  Some  monk  had  told  her 
that,  if  it  seems  heavy  and  hard  to  manage,  her  prayers 
will  surely  be  answered.  To  make  assurance  doubly  sure, 
she  may  also  go  and  consult  the  soothsayer,  whose  little 
booth  is  near  the  shrine, — a  cheerful  rogue,  not  without 
insight  and  a  sense  of  humor.  Whatever  he  may  say, 
however,  she  attributes  to  the  monk  the  supreme  place  of 
authority  and  pays  him  more  generously.  A  Burman 
student  who  was  converted  to  Christianity  was  asked  by 
an  old  lady  why  he  had  deserted  the  “custom”  of  his 
people.  “I  am  sick,”  he  began,  “of  all  this  bowing  down 
to  the  monks,  and  of  all  these  offerings.”  “Stop,  stop,”  she 
cried  aghast,  “you’re  destroying  the  whole  religion  of  our 
nation !” 

Again,  the  Burmese  women  think  of  the  monks  as  giving 
them  the  best  chance  to  gain  “merit.”  They  are  glad 
to  remember  that  the  Buddha  himself  taught  that  generous 
offerings  to  his  disciples,  the  monks,  would  be  potent  in 
securing  all  kinds  of  benefits  in  this  world  and  even  be  of 
help  to  those  who  have  passed  into  the  dim  life  of  the 
underworld.  Consequently,  it  seems  to  them  that  the 
monks  confer  a  favor  by  accepting  alms ;  it  is  the  donor 
who  says,  “Thank  you,”  and  congratulates  herself  on  ac¬ 
quiring  some  solid  benefits  for  herself  and  for  her  dear 
ones. 

And,  finally,  Buddhism  influences  Burmese  women  by 
appealing  to  their  imagination  and  their  love  of  the  mys¬ 
terious.  The  towering  pagodas  with  their  clustering 
shrines  of  Buddha,  their  innumerable  candles  twinkling 
in  the  dusk,  the  solemn  chanting  of  the  monks  and  their 
sexless  sanctity,  the  endless  repetition  of  prayers, — all 
these  things  make  a  very  deep  impression  upon  the  wor¬ 
shippers,  because  they  seem  to  lead  the  way  to  a  life  which 
is  above  and  outside  of  the  dull  routine  of  daily  duty.  The 


13 


BUDDHISM  IN  BURMA 

ceremonial  side  of  Buddhism  makes  a  deep  impression 
upon  the  multitude,  particularly  in  an  Oriental  land  where 
emotionalism  is  easy  and  habitual.  In  Buddhism,  there¬ 
fore,  as  in  other  religions,  the  women  form  a  mighty  in 
fluence  in  favor  of  the  ancient  religious  forms. 

(b)  What  it  Means  for  Burmese  Men. — Laymen  m 
Burma  are  much  like  men  elsewhere.  Religion  has 
a  strong  hold  upon  some  and  very  little  influence  over 
others.  Not  infrequently  a  jolly  Burmese  between  pros¬ 
trations  before  the  image  of  Buddha  will  keep  his  long 
cheroot  alive,  enjoying  an  occasional  puff.  He  is  like 
many  a  man  one  meets,  who  aims  to  make  the  best  of 
both  worlds.  To  men  of  this  type  Buddhism  never  fails 
to  make  a  strong  appeal,  particularly  when  contrasted 
with  any  other  religion.  Primarily,  he  will  believe  m 
Buddhism,  because  it  is  his  heritage,  or,  as  he  says,  “the 
custom  of  his  people.”  The  national  feeling,  which  is 
alive  in  Burma,  as  well  as  in  all  other  parts  of  the  East, 
resents  Western  influences,  among  which  it  reckons  Chris¬ 
tianity.  It  should  be  said,  moreover,  that  Buddhism 
strongly  appeals  to  the  Burmese  habit  of  mind.  It  has 
been  nationalized  in  Burma ;  in  addition,  it  appeals  to  the 
reason.  A  Burman  thinks  that  he  fully  understands  why 
there  is  inequality  in  human  lot,  why  some  people  aie 
rich  and  others  poor,  why  some  are  healthy  and  others 
foul  with  disease.  He  explains  it  as  the  working  out  of 
the  law  of  Kamma,1  Men  suffer  now  because  they  have 
sinned  at  some  earlier  time,  presumably  in  the  life  of  a 
former  birth.  Listen  to  this  conversation  between  two 
men.  Old  U  Hpay  is  telling  a  neighbor  about  a  foolish 
old  sister  of  his  who  has  adopted  a  calf  and  is  petting  it, 
because  its  voice  is  so  like  that  of  her  dead  husband.  While 
the  old  men  chuckle  over  her  belief  that  her  husband’s 
spirit  is  reincarnated  in  this  particular  calf,  yet  they  un- 

1  Sanskrit,  Karma. 


14 


BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 


questioningly  believe  that  a  reincarnation  of  this  kind  is 
the  law  of  life.  If  a  man  kills  a  mosquito  he  may,  for  all 
he  knows,  he  murdering  his  mother-in-law  in  a  new  body ! 
This  belief  does  not  always  wear  a  ludicrous  aspect;  it 
has  a  strong  logical  basis. 

Buddhism  puts  forth  its  greatest  appeal  to  the  Asiatic 
mind  at  those  times  when  there  comes  over  its  votaries  a 
wistful  yearning  for  something  which  this  world  has  not 
given  them.  Such  moments  come  frequently  in  the  eve¬ 
ning  of  life,  when  men  are  no  longer  concerned  with  mak¬ 
ing  money  or  with  the  raising  of  a  family  or  with  pushing 
their  way  into  positions  of  influence.  At  such  a  time  the 
appeal  of  Nibbana  and  its  peace  comes  home  to  many. 
They  do  not  feel  sure  of  reaching  it,  nor  do  they  fully 
understand  what  it  means.  Some  of  their  monkish  teach¬ 
ers  tell  them  it  will  mean  annihilation,  while  others  de¬ 
scribe  it  as  the  extinction  of  all  passion,  or  a  great  calm, 
or  a  paradise  of  sensual  joys.  In  one  or  another  way 
Nibbana ,  as  the  great  goal  of  life,  has  its  lure,  especially 
to  the  world-weary.  A  Christian  missionary  once  told  the 
writer  that  he  was  occasionally  tempted  in  the  staleness 
and  hurry  of  life  to  long  for  the  quiet  and  relief  which  an¬ 
nihilation  would  bring.  Of  course  he  was  worn  out  under 
the  pressure  of  his  work  and  needed  a  holiday !  Such  a 
viewpoint  seems  unnatural  to  those  of  us  who  have  been 
brought  up  in  the  Western  world,  but  it  is  both  real  and 
attractive  to  the  more  dreamy  Oriental. 

( c )  Buddhism  and  Little  Children. — Playing  around, 
while  the  old  people  talk  or  pray  or  listen,  are  always 
some  children.  Here  one  will  see  a  fat,  naked  baby  taking 
a  puff  at  his  grandfather’s  cigar;  over  there  a  little  girl, 
imitating  with  devoutness  what  she  sees  her  parents  doing 
before  the  great  image  of  Buddha,  also  takes  delight  in 
lighting  her  candle  and  in  offering  her  marigolds.  The 
older  children  quickly  pick  up  their  share  in  the  religious 


15 


BUDDHISM  IN  BURMA 

life  going  on  about  them.  In  some  of  the  youth  is  dawning 
a  sense  of  the  worshipfulness  of  the  great  Buddha,  who  has 
done  so  much  for  the  world.  A  little  girl  thinks  wistfully 
of  her  brother,  very  recently  her  playmate,  but  now  as  re¬ 
mote  from  her  and  far  away  as  if  he  belonged  to  another 
world,  since  he  has  become  a  Buddhist  novice  with  shaved 
head  and  yellow  robe.  It  is  not  customary  to  spend  much 
time  in  teaching  her  and  her  girl  playmates,  “they  are 
only  girls  1”  But,  as  everywhere,  these  girls  learn  quickly 
by  what  they  see  and  hear,  and  also  tend  to  become 
staunch  supporters  of  Buddhism.  There  are  some  very 
redoubtable  champions  of  the  religion  among  these  chil¬ 
dren;  and  the  girls  grow  up  less  instructed  but  not  less 
partisan  than  the  boys.  Gratitude  to  the  Buddha  and 
a  wondering  sense  of  his  greatness  and  power  are  theirs. 

(d)  The  Attitude  of  Educated  Burmese,— Thus  it 
is  that  every  Burmese  mother  desires  that  one  of  her  sons 
shall  take  and  keep  the  yellow  robe ;  yet  the  younger  among 
the  educated  Burmese  are  frank  in  calling  the  Order  of 
monks  a  “yellow  peril.”  This  is  not  because  they  are  men 
of  evil  life,  for  public  opinion  in  Burma  will  not  tolerate 
immorality  in  these  religious  leaders,  but  because  there  are 
so  many  of  them,  over  seventy-five  thousand  in  the  whole 
country.  Even  to  feed  such  a  horde  of  mendicants  is  a 
costly  business;  while  the  building  and  the  adorning  of 
pagodas,  which  they  are  ever  demanding  as  a  meritorious 
act,  may  mean  that  the  inheritance  of  every  one  belonging 
to  some  particular  village  will  be  seriously  reduced.  The 
pagoda  is  built  and  the  village  ruined”  is  a  proverb  which 
they  ruefully  repeat.  Among  the  students  who  are  in  the 
government  schools,  thus  coming  into  some  contact  with 
the  liberal  thinking  of  the  West,  such  facts  as  these  aie 
viewed  with  increasing  unrest.  They  develop  a  disposition 
to  question  the  real  values  of  the  present  religious  system. 
Possibly  not  more  than  ten  per  cent  of  the  students  who 


16 


BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 


have  had  Western  training  can  be  called  genuine  Bud¬ 
dhists.  The  old  people  to  whom  Buddhism  means  so  much 
become  increasingly  anxious  about  this  situation,  while  the 
young,  especially  the  students,  are  growing  restive. 
Burma,  like  many  other  countries,  is  thus  going  through 
a  period  of  religious  transition,  the  outcome  of  which  is 
uncertain.  It  is,  nevertheless,  still  a  strongly  Buddhist 
country,  and  the  great  masses  of  the  people  are  not  much 
affected  by  this  spirit  of  educated  skepticism. 

There  is  another  group,  the  officials,  who  are  apt  to  pay 
little  real  heed  to  religious  scruples,  since  they  realize 
that  Western  education  is  the  real  key  to  preferment. 
They  are  slightly  affected  by  much  that  their  fathers  would 
have  held  most  sacred  and  important.  Some  try  to  re¬ 
think  their  way  through  their  religion  and  to  adjust  it 
to  modern  ideas,  but  these  men  are  exceptional. 

(e)  The  Better  Side  of  Burmese  Buddhism. — Bud¬ 
dhism  is  often  described  as  a  pessimistic  religion.  This  is 
certainly  true  in  those  countries  where  the  surroundings 
encourage  a  dreary  outlook  on  life.  As  one  views  Bud¬ 
dhism  in  Burma,  however,  it  seems  to  make  the  people 
happy  and  contented.  This  result  is  quite  possibly  due  to 
their  naturally  cheerful  temperament.  Whatever  the  real 
reason,  there  is  remarkable  joyousness  about  the  gay-robed 
crowds  of  happy,  smiling  people,  not  alone  on  festal  days 
but  every  day.  They  laugh  and  joke  more  than  any  other 
Oriental  people. 

Again,  while  Buddhism  does  not  give  womanhood  as 
high  a  place  as  she  finds  under  the  influence  of  the  teach¬ 
ings  of  Jesus,  yet  it  has  granted  her  a  far  better  standing 
than  she  gains  in  any  part  of  India  under  Hinduism,  or 
in  other  parts  of  the  world  under  Islam.  In  Burma 
woman,  even  though  she  may  pray  to  he  born  the  next  time 
as  a  man,  is  the  “better  half”;  and  she  acts  the  part,  and 
makes  the  best  of  her  lot. 


BUDDHISM  IN  BURMA  17 

Again  that  great  curse  of  India,  caste,  is  practically 
unknown  to  Buddhist  Burma.  Buddhism  believes  in  the 
education  of  all  classes  and  throws  its  schools  and  mon¬ 
asteries  open  to  all  hoys  and  men.  Ability  is  in  a  very 
true  sense  the  secret  of  successful  leadership.  The  spirit 
of  the  Burmese  people  is  very  tolerant  and  kindly.  It  has 
not  led,  on  any  large  scale,  either  to  religious  persecution 
or  to  aggressive  war.  On  the  whole,  Burma  is  a  truly 
democratic  land,  as  well  as  a  cheerful  one.  These  con¬ 
ditions  represent  services  of  no  small  importance,  and, 
in  all  fairness,  they  should  be  credited  to  the  account  of 

Buddhism. 

It  would  be  fair  to  say  that  Buddhism  has  its  full 
share  in  promoting  the  great  awakening  of  the  spirit  of 
nationalism  throughout  Asia.  In  the  past  it  has  furnished 
a  real  bond  of  union,  and  is  today  perhaps  the  most 
deeply  rooted  bond  that  exists  between  many  of  the  peoples 
of  Asia.  It  is  therefore  eager  to  take  an  active  part  in  the 
movement  of  “Asia  for  the  Asiatics,”  which  both  deserves 
and  demands  the  friendly  attention  of  Western  peoples. 
Along  with  the  growth  of  nationalistic  sentiment,  a  certain 
revival  of  Buddhism  is  to  be  anticipated,  but  this  will  not 
necessarily  be  permanent. 

3.  Christianity's  Progress  in  Burma 

While  there  are  only  some  thirty  thousand  baptized 
Christians  among  the  Burmese  as  yet,  the  number  which 
is  properly  counted  as  virtually  Christian  within  the  con¬ 
fines  of  Burma  amounts  to  six  or  seven  times  as  many. 
The  Karens,  who  are  mountaineers  of  a  non-Burmese  race, 
dwelling  in  upper  Burma,  have  already  developed  a  great 
Church.  These  Christians,  all  taken  together,  however, 
are  but  few  in  comparison  with  the  eleven  millions  of  the 
population  of  the  country.  Yet  there  are  reasons  which 
point  in  the  direction  of  Burma  at  some  time  becoming  a 


18 


BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 


Christian  country,  although,  necessarily,  its  Christianity 
will  differ  very  greatly  in  type  from  that  which  prevails  in 
the  West. 

(a)  The  Burmese  Are  Naturally  Religious. — The 
natural  instinct  of  the  Burmese  for  religion  is  very  strong. 
The  people,  lavish  as  they  are  with  offerings  and  festivals 
and  interested  as  they  seem  to  he  in  the  details  of  ritual, 
are  not  satisfied  with  these  expressions  of  religious  feeling. 
Gratitude  to  Gotama,  the  great  Teacher  and  Lord,  is  a 
real  motive  in  the  lives  and  thoughts  of  many.  It  is  quite 
interesting  to  note  how  many  of  our  simple  Christian 
hymns  have  been  adopted  and  adapted  by  Buddhist  leaders 
and  put  into  common  use  by  loyal  Buddhists  : 

Glory,  laud  and  honor 
To  our  Lord  and  King, 

This  through  countless  ages. 

Men  and  Dev  as  sing. 

This  is  not  merely  for  the  sake  of  competing  with  Chris¬ 
tianity,  but  because  such  sentiments  express  the  emotions 
of  better  Buddhist  minds.  These  modern-minded  Bud¬ 
dhists,  unafraid  of  innovation,  have  not  hesitated  to  or¬ 
ganize  Buddhist  Sunday-schools.  In  these  the  children 
are  not  only  taught  in  accordance  with  Protestant  Sunday- 
school  methods,  but  they  sing  to  a  small,  portable  harmo¬ 
nium  our  little  children’s  hymns : 

Buddha  loves  me,  this  I  know; 

Eor  the  Scriptures  tell  me  so. 

Even  more  commonly  Burmese  hymns  and  “carols”  of 
their  own  invention  are  sung,  which  the  children  render 
with  a  will.  All  this,  while  sometimes  perplexing  to  the 
missionary  to  find  his  methods  so  copied,  goes  far  to 
indicate  the  real  basis  on  which  a  future  Christianity  may 
rest.  These  methods  are  likely  to  help  on  the  mission 


BUDDHISM  IN  BURMA 


19 


cause,  for  indifference  and  materialism  are  far  the  greatest 
foes  of  the  missionary. 

(6)  They  Tend  to  View  Gotama  as  a  Savior. — Bud¬ 
dhism  in  many  countries  today  is  tending  to  resemble 
Christianity  more  closely  than  it  resembles  the  Buddhism 
of  Gotama  and  the  elders.  It  is  more  of  a  religion  of  sym¬ 
pathy  and  service,  and  less  of  a  philosophy  than  the  Bud¬ 
dhism  of  the  early  Buddhist  Scriptures.  Especially  among 
the  more  educated,  who  have  come  into  some  sort  of  contact 
with  Christian  ideas,  very  many  are  tending  to  carry 
Buddhism  over  from  a  way  of  merit  and  self-mastery  into 
a  way  of  salvation  by  faith.  This  is  even  true  in  Southern 
Asia,  where  “merit”  is  a  word  on  every  tongue.  Gotama 
is  reported  by  these  Buddhists  to  have  promised  the  com¬ 
ing  of  a  redeemer.  And  there  is  a  growing  expectation 
and  yearning  for  Him.  When  a  father  blesses  his  child, 
he  is  not  unlikely  to  say  to  him :  “May  you  be  reborn  when 
the  Loving  One,  Metteya,1  comes.”  The  more  this  ten¬ 
dency  prevails,  the  easier  may  the  transition  be  from 
Buddhism  to  real  Christianity.  Its  prevalence  suggests 
that  the  old  religion  is  failing  to  satisfy  its  best  adherents. 

(c)  The  Christian  Heaven  Is  More  Attractive  than 
Nibbana. — Another  noticeable  fact,  clear  to  many  students 
of  Buddhism,  is  that  Buddhists  today  are  much  more  ready 
than  previously  to  accept  the  idea  of  a  Christian  heaven. 
This  heaven,  represented  as  a  state  of  progress,  a  meeting 
place  of  friends,  and  an  opportunity  for  the  beatific  vision 
of  God,  is  very  attractive  to  them.  The  appeal  of  Nibbana 
seems  to  be  dying  out.  “Nibbana/’  said  a  monk  in  Burma, 
“is  a  fearsome  thought.  I  have  no  hope  of  attaining  it.” 
“We  are  walking  in  darkness,”  said  a  Ceylonese  leader, 
“without  seeing  a  light,  a  person,  or  a  hope.”  Mission¬ 
aries,  both  in  Burma  and  Ceylon,  are  agreed  that  the 
teaching  of  Buddhism  has  changed  very  greatly  during 

*  Sanskrit,  Maitri. 


20  BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

the  last  few  decades  among  those  who  have  come,  di¬ 
rectly  or  indirectly,  in  touch  with  Christianity.  Uormerly 
Buddhists  always  preached  that  there  was  no  supreme 
God,  that  Nibbdna  meant  total  quiescence,  almost  total  an¬ 
nihilation,  that  man  is  his  own  savior,  and  that  there  is  no 
possible  escape  from  the  penalty  of  sin.  In  contrast, 
today,  many  admit  that  there  must  he  a  God,  declare  that 
Gotama  is  a  savior,  and  believe  that  sin  is  forgiven  and 
that  Nibbdna  is  something  akin  to  the  Christian  concep¬ 
tion  of  heaven.  .  . 

(d)  Christianity  Imparts  a  Needed  Sense  of  Spiritual 

Freedom.— It  is  clear  that  Christianity  can  dispel  the 
persistent  superstitious  terrors  of  demon-haunted  villages 
and  can  lessen  the  horrors  of  the  slums  of  the  great  cities. 
One  who  lives  in  a  Christian  country  can  scarcely  imagine, 
much  less  estimate,  the  relief  which  is  thus  brought  to  the 
lives  of  thousands.  A  country  like  Burma  is  not  inter¬ 
ested  in  a  new  system  of  ethics.  It  is  satisfied  with  what 
it  already  possesses  in  the  way  of  moral  standards.  But  it 
does  sorely  need  and  should  heartily  welcome  the  sense  of 
spiritual  freedom  and  power  which  Christianity  can  im¬ 
part.  “The  Kingdom  of  God  is  not  in  word,  but  in 
power.”  This  saying  has  ever  a  new  meaning  to  supersti¬ 
tion-ridden  peoples.  And  the  Burmese  behind  their  gaiety 
hide  a  real  fear.  Even  Buddhism  has  had  to  make  terms 
with  their  craving  for  release  from  malicious  or  evil 

spirits. 

4.  The  Christianity  Which  May  Prevail 

Buddhism,  then,  has  in  the  noble  eightfold  path  given 
to  Burma  a  lofty  system  of  ethics,  which  has  been  so  long 
accepted  as  the  ideal  that  it  satisfies  the  Burmese  mind. 
Yet  it  is  so  high  that  the  average  man  despairs  of  attaining 
it.  Burma,  like  other  countries,  is  in  dire  need  of  leaders 
of  strong  and  robust  character.  Buddhism’s  greatest 


21 


BUDDHISM  IN  BURMA 

failure,  as  many  loyal  Buddhists  declare,  is  in  the  task  of 
building  character.  If  Burma  saw  a  resolute  and  radiant 
Christianity  exemplified  in  its  representatives,  she  would 
indeed  be  attracted  to  it,  but  at  present  her  people  regard 
Christianity  as  a  Western  parallel  to  Buddhism,  which  its 
own  followers  do  not  take  too  seriously,  and  whose  moral 
code  is  flagrantly  broken  by  Western  residents  or  visitors 
to  this  pleasure-loving  land.  They  see  the  haunts  of  vice 
in  their  great  cities  frequented  by  representatives  of  the 
white  race,  and  they  know  that  their  country,  in  the  past 
at  any  rate,  has  been  looked  upon  as  a  place  “where  there 
ain’t  no  Ten  Commandments.”  In  all  fairness  to  West¬ 
ern  Christianity  and  to  international  friendship,  the  West 
should  see  to  it,  by  any  and  every  means  in  its  power, 
that  she  is  represented  in  Southern  Asia  by  her  very  best 
men  and  women,  in  mission  service,  in  commerce  and 
in  diplomacy.  The  wide-ranging  plans  of  the  Rocke¬ 
feller  Foundation  in  assisting  Oriental  peoples  in  their 
fight  against  the  inroads  of  the  hookworm  and  of  other 
diseases,  combined  with  the  fine  character  of  its  chosen 
representatives,  serves  to  make  it  a  very  real  addition  to 
the  forces  today  which  represent  Christianity  at  its  best. 
Such  allies  all  missionaries  welcome  with  enthusiasm. 

(a)  Moral  CoTiditioTis  in  Burma  Call  for  Reform.  -The 
moral  situation  in  Burma,  in  the  minds  of  intelligent 
Buddhists,  calls  either  for  the  thorough  revivification  of 
Buddhism  itself  or  for  Christianity  in  its  most  vital  form. 
The  need  is  grave.  The  Burma  of  today  is  at  once  the 
most  literate  and  the  most  criminal  portion  of  the  Indian 
Empire.  A  government  report  for  1912  reads  as  follows: 


The  moral  sense  of  the  people  is  diminishing  in  step  with  a 
slackening  of  religious  observances.  With  the  decay  of  ancient 
beliefs  the  Buddhist  religion  is  losing  its  moral  sanction  as  an 
inspiring  force  in  the  lives  of  its  adherents.  Drunkenness, 
gambling,  drug-taking  and  vicious  habits,  increasing  as  they 


22  BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

all  are,  tend  to  produce  a  weakening  of  self-control  and  a  loss 
of  self-respect,  which  in  favoring  circumstances  easily  create 
the  criminal. 

A  fair-minded  observer  would  lay  these  deplorable  con¬ 
ditions  to  the  impact  of  Western  “civilization/’  which  has 
broken  down  many  of  the  safeguards  natural  to  Buddhism. 
The  substitution  of  foreign  rule  for  national  control  carries 
with  it  an  emphasis  on  some  social  sanctions  and  a  weaken¬ 
ing  of  others.  Whatever  the  advantages,  and  they  are 
many,  of  British  rule,  there  is  an  inevitable  sacrifice  of 
some  influences  which  promoted  morality  and  happiness 
in  the  older  days.  The  conditions  which  exist  are  readily 
open  to  reform  and  are  in  process  of  betterment.  The 
acceptance  of  Christianity  will  hasten  the  day. 

(b)  Loving  Social  Service  Opens  a  Way. — When 
Christianity  finds  expression  in  deeds  of  loving  social  ser¬ 
vice,  such  as  a  work  for  lepers,  asylums  for  the  blind  and 
schools  for  the  deaf,  or  the  relief  of  any  other  needy  class 
in  a  community,  it  touches  a  responsive  chord  in  every 
Buddhist  heart.  Christianity’s  social  appeals  go  far  to¬ 
wards  breaking  down  all  forms  of  prejudice.  It  is  a 
significant  fact  that  the  young  Burmese  are  organizing 
their  own  Young  Men’s  Buddhist  Association  and  their 
own  social  service  clubs,  although  at  present  these  move¬ 
ments  are  not  showing  any  great  staying  power,  since  they 
are  merely  imitative. 

5.  Buddhism  s  Last  Stand  in  Burma 

There  is  still  much  work  for  the  Christian  missionary 
in  Burma  to  do.  Buddhism  in  many  parts  of  the  land 
seems  to  be  making  one  great  last  stand  against  the  gospel 
of  Christ.  Its  own  standards  are  in  many  respects  so  high 
that  the  Christianity  which  shall  win  the  adherence  of  the 
followers  of  Buddha  must  be  of  a  thoroughly  loving  and 
sacrificial  type.  Such  Christianity,  which  is  always  in  it- 


BUDDHISM  IN  BURMA  M 

self  an  overpowering  argument  for  the  efficacy  and  truth  of 
the  Christian  faith,  is  altogether  too  rare.  Outside  ot  the 
missionary  circle  it  is  so  infrequent  as  to  he  anomalous. 
In  fact,  the  Buddhist  revival  of  the  present  time  may  e 
regarded  as  in  some  respects  a  reaction  from  the  pseudo- 
Christianity  which  the  Burmese  through  sad  experiences 
are  tempted  to  regard  as  that  of  the  West. 

Christianity  possesses  in  the  gospel  of  Jesus  of  Naza¬ 
reth  the  dynamic  which  Buddhism,  particularly  the  monas¬ 
tic  Buddhism  of  Burma,  sorely  needs.  To  interpret  this 
genuine  Christianity  to  them,  and  to  show  how  reasonably 
and  fully  it  satisfies  the  deepest  needs  of  which  Buddhists 
are  conscious  becomes  the  appealing  task  of  the  Christian 
missionary.  There  are  few  harder  fields  than  the  Burma 
of  today,  yet  none  which  are  more  attractive. 


Ill 


BUDDHISM  IN  CEYLON 

Ceylon,  although  it  lies  just  across  the  Indian  Ocean 
from  Burma  and  rejoices  in  the  same  sunny  skies,  has 
developed  throughout  the  centuries  a  Buddhism  of  a  dif¬ 
ferent,  more  somber  type.  Ceylon  is  a  beautiful  country, 
having  in  boundless  profusion  the  treasures  that  nature 
can  give.  Its  largest  city,  Colombo,  the  one  which  travel¬ 
lers  know  best,  is,  in  a  large  degree,  a  modern,  Occidentally 
planned  city  with  Oriental  inhabitants.  The  character¬ 
istic  features  of  Sinhalese  Buddhism  are  not  to  be  seen 
there.  One  must  rather  go  to  the  old  capital,  Kandy, 
up  among  the  hills,  the  last  refuge  of  the  ancient  line  of 
kings  before  the  British  took  full  control  of  the  island, 
over  one  hundred  years  ago.  Kandy  is  still,  notwithstand¬ 
ing  the  improvements  which  British  enterprise  has  in¬ 
troduced,  the  same  quiet  old  city,  crowded  with  Buddhist 
symbols  and  fiercely  loyal  to  the  old  traditions  of  the 
religion  of  the  yellow  robe,  which  for  twenty-one  hundred 
years  has  held  undisputed  sway  over  the  populace  of  the 
southern  two-thirds  of  the  beautiful  island.  In  the  dis¬ 
tricts  of  the  extreme  north  the  inhabitants  are  prevailingly 
Tamils,  who  are  Saivites  in  religion  and  have  no  relation¬ 
ship  of  any  kind  with  Buddhism.  Except  for  business 
reasons  the  Tamils  mingle  little  with  the  Sinhalese. 
Neither  group  of  Ceylonese  affects  the  other  noticeably, 
except  in  governmental  relationships. 

24 


BUDDHISM  IN  CEYLON 


25 


1.  How  Buddhism  Is  Propagated 

In  Ceylon,  as  in  Burma,  one  notices  the  relatively  vast 
numbers  of  monks,  though  the  proportion  of  the  population 
is  much  smaller,  and  their  standing  is  inferior.  In  fact, 
it  is  rather  fashionable  in  good  Buddhist  society  in  Ceylon 
to  despise  the  mendicants  of  the  yellow  robe.  Neverthe¬ 
less,  there  are  about  eight  thousand  of  them,  in  a  total 
population  of  three  millions  of  Sinhalese,  enough  to  lay 
a  very  great  burden  upon  the  people.  There  are  some 
noble  characters  among  them  and  their  total  influence  is 
very  great.  Just  as  in  Burma,  yet  with  far  less  efficiency, 
they  bring  the  teachings  of  the  Buddhist  law  and  the 
practice  of  its  numerous  demands  to  the  attention  of  the 
people. 

Their  monasteries  and  temples  cover  the  land.  Some  of 
these  in  active  use,  such  as  the  great  and  ancient  Temple 
of  the  Tooth  at  Kandy,  are  held  in  very  great  reverence, 
not  only  by  the  local  populace  and  by  good  Buddhists  all 
over  Ceylon,  but  by  Buddhists  of  other  countries,  who 
come  to  Kandy  on  pilgrimages.  They  visit  Adam’s  Peak, 
where  they  prostrate  themselves  before  a  gigantic  foot¬ 
print,  said  to  have  been  made  by  Gotama,  and  likewise 
Anuradhapura  and  its  glorious  ruins.  A  festival  day  at 
this  temple  will  reproduce  many  of  the  characteristic 
scenes  already  pictured  as  happening  in  Burma. 

(a)  A  Festal  Day  at  the  Temple  of  the  Tooth  in  Kandy. 
— When  a  great  festal  day  occurs  in  south  Ceylon,  thou¬ 
sands  flock  to  Kandy  from  the  country  round  about  to 
share  in  the  splendid  ceremonials.  Life  is  dull  in  the 
villages,  and  such  opportunities  find  a  hearty  response. 
Ceylon  possesses  two  relics  of  the  Lord  Buddha  and  his 
days  which  are  esteemed  very  precious  by  faithful  Bud¬ 
dhists  everywhere.  One  is  the  great  and  very  ancient  Bo- 
tree  at  Anuradhapura,  the  reputed  successor  of  the  original 
tree  under  which  the  Lord  Buddha  sat,  when  he  received 


36  BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

his  enlightenment.  The  other  is  possessed  by  this  temple 
at  Kandy.  It  is  a  more  immediate  relie  of  the  Lord  Bud¬ 
dha  himself,  said  to  be  of  wonder-working  potency  and  of 
unbelievable  sacredness.  It  is  a  tooth,  believed  implicitly 
by  devotees  to  have  been  a  veritable  tooth  of  the  Master 
himself.  Even  to  gaze  at  the  nest  of  complicated  caskets 
within  which  this  holy  relic  is  supposed  to  rest  is  thought 
by  Buddhists  to  be  the  means  of  gaining  much  “merit.”  It 
affects  Buddhist  devotees  very  much  as  devout  but  ig¬ 
norant  Eoman  Catholics  are  moved  by  the  sight  of  “relics 
of  the  true  Cross.”  Doubtless  there  are  many  loyal  sons 
of  the  Eoman  Church  who  look  upon  such  ideas  as  super¬ 
stitious.  Probably,  also,  there  are  many  professed  Bud¬ 
dhists  in  Ceylon  in  these  modern  days  to  whom  the  ancient 
habit  of  seeking  for  relics  of  the  Master  and  of  his  day 
and  of  placing  such  relics  in  stately  dome-shaped  dagobas 
has  lost  most  of  its  significance.  Nevertheless,  both  in 
America  and  Europe,  and  in  Southern  Asia,  there  are 
thousands  of  unlettered  people  to  whom  such  relics  as  these 
seem  to  make  a  real  appeal.  And  though  this  tooth  is 
probably  not  a  genuine  relic,  yet  some  bones,  almost  cer¬ 
tainly  those  of  the  Buddha,  have  been  found  in  India. 

At  such  a  festival  the  people  listen  reverently  to  the 
preaching  of  the  monks,  join  in  the  processions,  offer  their 
candles  and  flowers  and  say  their  prayers,  just  as  every¬ 
where  in  Buddhist  lands.  Each  great  festival  reaches  its 
climax  in  the  very  guarded  exhibit  of  some  very  precious 
relic  of  Buddha,  or  of  his  time,  seldom  actually  seen,  but 
only  presented  in  its  enveloping  or  protecting  coverings. 
The  people  go  away,  however,  with  a  fresh  impression  of 
the  place  of  the  Lord  Buddha  in  their  daily  lound  of 
living. 

(b)  The  Hillside  Preacher. — But  Buddhism  is  not 
merely  a  religion  which  accepts  things  as  they  are,  pas¬ 
sively.  From  its  foundation  it  has  been  in  theory  and 


BUDDHISM  IN  CEYLON  37 

in  practice  a  religion  which  aims  at  conversion  and  edu¬ 
cation.  It  goes  to  the  people  wherever  it  can  find  them 
and  seeks  to  keep  alive  their  devotion  to  religious  obliga¬ 
tions.  The  people  listen  to  the  teaching  of  the  monks, 
who,  however  inefficient  or  unworthy  in  matter  of  fact, 
are  the  evangelists  of  Buddhism.  In  the  early  spring, 
when  the  rains  are  over  and  the  moonlight  shines  brightly, 
the  Sinhalese  farmers  gather  from  the  little  villages 
on  some  convient  hillside,  where  they  listen  to  the 
monk,  as  he  patiently  declares  and  expounds  the  law  of 

Buddha. 

Life  is  dull  in  these  villages,  so  that  any  incident  and 
any  teaching  will  he  welcome.  As  in  Burma,  so  in  Ceylon, 
a  belief  in  demonism  is  inextricably  interwoven  with  popu¬ 
lar  Buddhism.  It  is  a  strange  world  in  which  the  peasantry 
live,  “a  world  of  bare  and  brutal  facts,  of  superstition,  of 
grotesque  imagination ;  a  world  of  hunger  and  fear  and 
devils,  where  a  man  is  helpless  before  the  unseen,  unin¬ 
telligible  forces  surrounding  him.”  In  Ceylon  the  demon¬ 
ism  is  darker  and  far  more  sinister  and  it  blends  with  a 
far  more  somber  and  pessimistic  Buddhism.  It  is  not  so 
many  years  since  human  sacrifices  were  made  to  the 
demons  of  disease.  In  the  dim,  confused  minds  of  these 
ignorant  villagers  devils  and  anti-devils,  exorcists  and 
monks,  incantations  and  prayers  to  Buddha  are  com¬ 
mingled  with  slight  differentiation. 

This  darker  pessimism  speaks  through  the  monotonous 
sing-song  of  the  yellow-robed  monk  on  the  hillside,  as  he 
speaks  to  the  villagers,  urging  upon  them  that  life  is 
transient  and  full  of  sorrow,  that  none  the  less  their  chief 
duty  is  to  avoid  taking  the  life  of  the  meanest  animal. 
He  would  not  except  the  malarial  mosquito  or  the  plague¬ 
bringing  rat,  against  which  government  edicts  have  gone 
out.  Even  the  poor  farmer,  however,  may  wonder  how 
his  religion  should  be  in  conflict  with  the  proper  care  of 


28 


BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 


his  family  or  with  the  power  and  knowledge  of  the  govern¬ 
ment.  He  may  ask,  “Which  is  to  die,  my  child  or  the  rat  ?” 
There  can  eventually  he  hut  one  reply  made  to  such  a 
question. 

The  men  listen  dully,  chewing  their  hetel-nut.  They 
do  not  have  as  much  respect  for  the  monks  as  do  the 
Burmese.  They  realize  more  acutely  what  a  drain  the 
monastic  order,  which  owns  one  third  of  the  arable  land  of 
the  country,  makes  upon  their  resources.  Yet  they  are  not 
disrespectful  to  the  “Law”  and  its  teachers,  and  probably 
carry  away  from  the  preaching  a  certain  sense  of  religious 
peace. 

(c)  The  Schools  for  Instruction. — In  Ceylon,  as  in 
Burma,  the  monastic  order  is  eager  to  secure  additions  to 
its  numbers  out  of  the  fresh  swarms  of  boys  that  are  con¬ 
stantly  growing  up.  The  admirable  system  of  primary 
education,  developed  during  the  last  century  by  the  gov¬ 
ernment  of  Ceylon,  tends  naturally  against  so  sweeping  an 
influence  over  these  boys  on  the  part  of  the  monks,  as  the 
Order  possesses  in  Burma.  Moreover,  although  the  monks 
think  of  themselves  as  having  a  first  claim  upon  the  re¬ 
sources  of  the  Sinhalese  people,  they  are  far  less  active 
than  their  brethren  in  Burma.  Except  in  a  fitful  way 
they  are  not  habitual  schoolmasters,  like  those  of  Burma, 
but  live  a  life  of  indolence.  The  instruction  they  give  as 
an  Order  consequently  does  not  amount  to  much.  Yet  there 
are  those  who  are  kind  and  thoughtful  and  willing  to  help 
to  inculcate  what  all  Buddhists  desire — a  knowledge 
of  the  Scriptures.  Out  of  the  little  groups  thus  taught 
there  are  some  sufficiently  impressed  by  one  aspect  or 
another  of  the  life  of  the  monkish  order  to  be  drawn  later 
on  into  its  membership.  Some  strong  and  true  boys  are 
brought  under  the  spell,  but  the  great  majority  of  those 
who  become  monks  seem  to  be  from  those  who  are  least 
important  socially. 


BUDDHISM  IN  CEYLON 


29 


2.  The  Hold  of  Buddhism  upon  the  Sinhalese 

In 'Ceylon  Buddhism  has  had  a  supreme  opportunity. 
For  over  two  thousand  years,  since  the  royal  missionary, 
Mahinda,  brought  it  to  the  island,  it  has  held  unbroken 
sway  over  the  Sinhalese.  For  the  greater  number  of  these 
centuries  it  had  the  patronage  and  liberal  support  of  kings, 
whose  relatives  were  often  numbered  among  the  great 
abbots.  The  remarkable  ruins  of  the  ancient  cities  of 
Anuradhapura  and  Pollanaruwa,  in  spite  of  the  incursions 
of  the  jungle  and  of  the  neglect  of  centuries,  are  still  mag¬ 
nificent  and  eloquent  monuments,  which  voice  the  great¬ 
ness  and  the  splendor  of  Buddhism  at  its  height,  when 
Western  lands  were  still  barbarian.  A  religion  thus 
embedded  in  the  national  as  well  as  the  religious  traditions 
of  the  race  would  naturally  have  a  real  abiding-place  of 
some  sort  in  the  life  of  any  people  and  be  hard  to  uproot. 
To  estimate  the  real  hold  of  Buddhism  upon  the  Sinhalese 
is  not  a  simple  matter. 

( a )  On  the  Peasantry. — In  the  average  village,  crude 
as  the  preaching  of  the  monks  may  be,  and  however  dull 
the  response  of  the  people,  Buddhism  confers  a  certain 
sense  of  religious  peace,  of  other-worldly  calm.  The  Lord 
Buddha  has  a  place,  however  imperfectly  grasped,  as  an 
ideal  of  moral  and  religious  perfection.  The  Dhamma  1 
expresses  right  living  standards  to  the  people.  Buddhism 
has  a  great  hold  upon  them,  because  it  is  a  standardizing 
influence  and  because  it  emphasizes  the  gentler  and  finer 
aspect  of  life.  Yet  the  Sinhalese,  like  the  Burmese,  are 
really  the  victims  of  a  decadent  Buddhism  which  is  too 
weak  to  lift  them  above  the  influence  of  grinding  poverty 
and  of  a  pervasive  and  militant  demonism.  So  long  as 
the  peasantry  is  chiefly  interested  in  the  struggle  for  ex¬ 
istence  and  in  the  day  by  day  propitiation  of  the  demons 
round  about,  they  really  have  little  room  in  their  hearts 

1  Dhamma  (Sanskrit,  dharma)  means  “law”  or  “teaching.” 


30  BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

or  minds  for  any  higher  religious  life.  A  Christianity 
which  reaches  them  must  improve  their  economic  position 
and  eliminate  this  fear,  before  they  can  reach  a  more 
spiritual  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 

(b )  On  the  More  Intelligent  Laity. — The  great  tree  of 
Buddhism  has  planted  its  roots  deeply  in  the  fair  soil  of 
Ceylon.  One  may  minimize  the  significance  of  such  un¬ 
intelligent  devotion  as  a  villager  gives  and  the  professional 
loyalty  of  an  organized  priesthood.  It  is  of  more  im¬ 
portance  to  discover  the  real  attitude  of  an  intelligent  Bud¬ 
dhist  layman,  one  well  educated  within  the  last  quarter  cen¬ 
tury,  who  dresses  in  Western  style,  and  is  reasonably  well 
acquainted  with  Western  ideas  and  methods. 

If  such  a  man  is  in  attendance  at  a  temple  festival,  or 
if  he  is  a  listener  to  the  preaching  of  an  itinerant  monk, 
he  will  doubtless  show  in  his  manner  a  shade  of  contempt. 
Nevertheless,  Buddhism  will  have  its  appeal  for  him. 
This  may  be  in  part  due  to  the  spirit  of  nationalism  which 
has  been  kept  alive  during  and  because  of  wave  after  wave 
of  European  aggression.  In  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century  the  Portuguese  got  a  foothold  in  the  island ;  a  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  years  later  they  were  driven  out  by  the 
Dutch,  who,  in  turn,  gave  place,  about  1800,  to  the  Eng¬ 
lish.  Since  the  English  occupancy  Buddhism  has  been 
perfectly  free  to  develop  in  its  own  way.  But  many  of  its 
leaders  still  cherish  the  memory,  often  with  much  exag¬ 
geration,  of  the  glory  of  the  ancient  kingdom.  When  they 
dream  of  national  rehabilitation,  they  identify  with  it  a 
loyalty  to  inherited  Buddhism.  The  more  sober-minded 
among  the  educated  Sinhalese  may  realize  the  solid  advan¬ 
tages  of  the  existing  political  situation  under  English 
control,  and  yet  Buddhism,  even  in  comparison  with  the 
type  of  Christianity  with  which  they  are  likely  to  be 
acquainted,  makes  a  real  appeal  to  them  as  a  factor  in  the 
great  days  of  national  freedom. 


*  BUDDHISM  IN  CEYLON 


31 


3.  Buddhism  as  a  Cultured  Sinhalese  Sees  It 

The  real  appeal  of  Buddhism  to  a  patriotic,  educated 
Sinhalese  may  be  on  account  of  its  spiritual  heritage,  if 
he  really  understands  that  legacy,  but  rests  chiefly  on  his 
conviction  that  Buddhism  has  still  a  place  in  the  world 
and  a  real  function.  He  sometimes  expresses  this  thought 
in  geographical  or  racial  terms.  He  thinks  of  Buddhism 
as  particularly  adapted  to  his  people  and  to  other  Asiatic 
peoples.  He  also  points  to  the  following  particular  values 
of  Buddhism. 

(a)  The  Appeal  of  Its  Impressive  Past . — Such  men  are 
impressed  by  what  they  see  around  them  of  a  very  ancient 
and  very  real  civilization,  which  Buddhism  undoubtedly 
built.  In  the  jungles  everywhere  are  indications  of  the 
days  when  Buddhism  taught  the  people  to  irrigate  their 
fields,  to  develop  and  spend  much  wealth,  to  build  strong 
cities,  to  write  remarkable  books  and  to  develop  a  high 
culture.  In  the  ruined  cities  of  the  north  the  patriot  sees 
the  melancholy  remains  of  a  great  Buddhist  civilization, 
great  not  merely  in  material  achievements,  as  shown  by 
the  huge  tanks,  the  irrigation  systems,  the  temples  and  the 
cities,  now  almost  hidden  by  rank  undergrowth,  but  re¬ 
maining  to  prove  that  Ceylon  was  once  the  seat  of  a  power¬ 
ful  Buddhist  kingdom.  He  has  reason,  too,  for  patriotic 
pride  when  he  recalls  the  spirit  of  some  of  the  great 
rulers  of  the  past.  Suppose,  for  instance,  that  he  should 
contrast  the  devastation  caused  by  the  Great  War  in 
Europe  with  what  comes  to  his  mind,  as  he  stands  before 
the  statue  of  the  noble  Dutthagdmini ,  who,  to  save  his 
people  from  war,  sought  out  the  usurper,  slew  him  in 
single  combat,  and  then  in  the  greatness  of  his  heart  put 
up  a  splendid  monument  in  his  honor.  Such  recollections 
as  these  convince  the  young  Sinhalese  of  today  that  Bud¬ 
dhism  has  still  a  place  in  the  world. 

(b)  The  Appeal  of  Its  Social  Efficiency.— The  intelli- 


32 


BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

gent  Buddhist  layman  in  Ceylon  not  merely  emphasizes 
the  sense  of  peace  and  quiet  satisfaction  which  comes  to  a 
loyal  Buddhist;  he  also  claims  that  Buddhism  has  done 
away  with  caste  and  has  purified  religion.  He  often  com 
pares  the  dignity,  the  stately  beauty  and  the  harmlessness 
of  the  Buddhist  temple  and  its  surroundings  with  the 
incredibly  gross  indecencies  of  a  Saivite  shiine  in  South 
era  India.  In  Buddhism  the  object  of  worship  is  a  great 
and  good  super-man;  in  Saivite  Hinduism  the  base  pas¬ 
sions  of  a  perverted  sexuality  are  intermingled  with  wor¬ 
ship.  The  superiority  of  Buddhism  is  clearly  manifest. 

(c)  Its  Advocacy  of  High  Social  Standards.  The 
apologist  argues,  too,  that  Buddhism  still  retains  the  power 
of  molding  public  opinion.  He  may  properly  instance 
the  strenuous  appeals  which  the  Buddhists  have  made  to 
the  Ceylon  government  to  suppress  rather  than  to  en¬ 
courage  the  liquor  traffic.  He  may  fairly  point  also  to 
some  of  the  good  Buddhist  schools,  where  young  Ceylon  is 
taught  the  great  moral  lessons  of  that  faith.  It  is  true 
that  theosophists  from  the  West  were  chiefly  responsible 
for  starting  these  better  schools,  yet  the  Buddhists  keep 
them  up,  adding  new  buildings  and  improving  the  quality 
of  instruction. 

4.  The  Marked  Contrasts  among  Buddhists  Today 
Buddhists  in  Ceylon,  as  we  have  already  seen,  are  not 
all  of  one  kind.  They  represent  various  stages  of  religious 
development  and  various  tendencies.  There  is  a  marked 
difference  between  the  audience  of  the  hillside  preacher 

and  a  group  of  cultured  Buddhists. 

Let  us  return  to  the  hillside  preacher.  A  marked  change 
has  come  over  his  stolid  audience.  All  seem  now  alert  and 
eager.  Seated  around  his  platform,  they  are  holding  a 
cord  which  seems  to  bind  them  in  some  mystic  circle. 
The  monk  turns  their  attention  to  apirit,”  a  kind  of  magic 


BUDDHISM  IN  CEYLON 


33 


incantation.  He  begins  to  recite  the  ancient  runes  by 
which  evil  is  averted  and  demon  armies  kept  at  bay.  He 
is  telling  how  the  bandit,  Augulimala,  who  had  killed 
nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  victims  and  wore  their 
fingers  as  a  chaplet,  tried  to  kill  the  Buddha  so  as  to  make 
the  full  tale  of  a  thousand,  but  was  converted  by  him  on 
the  spot.  “May  the  merit  of  this  action  be  yours/’  he 
says,  and  they  all  cry  Sadhu ,  “Amen!’’  They  can  then 
go  home  with  some  sort  of  satisfaction. 

“All  humbug,”  grunts  the  layman.  He  proposes  that 
his  companions  go  to  the  Young  Men’s  Buddhist  Associa¬ 
tion,  where  a  Sinhalese  advocate,  newly  returned  from 
England,  is  going  to  read  a  paper  on  “Buddhism,  a  Gospel 
for  Europe.”  Leaving  the  palms  and  fragrant  trees  of  the 
jungle  silhouetted  against  the  brilliant  sky,  and  passing  the 
white  buildings  of  the  Buddhist  high  school  and  of  the 
venerated  Temple  of  the  Tooth,  the  group  talks  of  this 
possibility.  One  says  that  a  movement  is  on  foot  to  send 
a  mission  to  Europe.  He  may  declare  that  if  Christians 
were  real  followers  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  such  missions 
would  be  wholly  in  vain ;  and  that  the  spirit  of  Gotama  is 
akin  to  that  of  Jesus.  Such  a  man  often  says  to  a  West¬ 
erner,  “We  see  your  Christ  in  His  beauty,  because  we 
have  first  seen  the  beauty  of  our  Buddha.”  Such  men 
are  not  far  away  from  Christianity. 

5.  Christianity's  Approach  to  the  Sinhalese  Buddhists 

In  Ceylon,  even  more  than  in  Burma  the  attitude 
of  the  people  of  the  land  to  Christianity  is  strongly  preju¬ 
diced  by  the  actions  of  travellers,  business  men  and  others 
who  hail  from  the  West.  Christianity  to  them  is  a 
Western  religion.  Just  as  we  make  the  mistake  of  judg¬ 
ing  Far-eastern  peoples  by  those  who  make  their  way  to 
America  to  earn  a  competence,  so  the  Sinhalese  judge 
Christianity  by  those  from  Europe  or  America  whom  they 


34  BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

see.  Among  these  missionaries  and  religiously-minded  lay¬ 
men  are  relatively  few.  Thousands  of  visitors  of  every 
kind  and  character  pass  through  Ceylon  each  year,  who 
create  not  infrequently  an  unfavorable  impression.  The 
net  result  is  to  make  the  presentation  of  Christianity  to  the 

populace  proportionately  harder. 

Another  difficulty  has  grown  out  of  the  desire  of  cer¬ 
tain  Europeans  to  become  propagators  of  Buddhism  m 
the  West.  These  have  settled  down  in  Buddhist  centers, 
notably  in  Ceylon,  have  cultivated  the  friendship  of  the 
Buddhist  authorities,  and  have  imparted,  in  some  cases, 
to  the  Buddhist  leaders  a  certain  enthusiasm  for  con¬ 
verting  Europe  and  America  to  Buddhism.  These  men 
and  women  are  often  very  keen  and  able  thinkers.  They 
have  become  fascinated  by  the  Buddhism  of  the  books, 
and  are  able  to  shut  their  eyes  to  Buddhism  as  it  is  actually 
lived  today.  Eew  missionaries  in  the  past  have  been  able 
to  take  the  time  to  acquire  the  philosophical,  psychological 
and  religious  training  which  would  enable  them  to  get 
abreast  of  the  religious  culture  and  the  history  of  Bud¬ 
dhism  and  to  think  on  even  terms  with  these  scholarly 
pro-Buddhists.  The  latter,  though  few  in  number,  are 
naturally  influential  with  the  Sinhalese  people.  They 
urge,  moreover,  that  Buddhism  is  not  decadent  but  still 

a  living  growth. 

Whatever  such  men,  or  the  national  leaders  who  take  a 
cue  from  them,  may  say  or  think,  Ceylon  needs  Christ¬ 
ianity.  Much  as  Buddhism  may  have  done  for  this 
lovely  land,  it  does  need  today  the  saving  power  of 
Jesus  Christ,  alike  in  the  jungle  village  and  in  the 
teeming  city,  to  cast  out  fear  and  to  break  the  power 
of  sin  over  men,  enabling  them  to  live  nearer  to  their 
ideals.  In  Ceylon,  as  in  Burma,  Buddhism  is  in  some 
degree  adapting  itself  to  the  new  world-environment. 
Its  old  cry  of  pain,  “All  is  fleeting,  transient,  sorrow- 


BUDDHISM  IN  CEYLON 


35 


ful!”  is  giving  place  to  attempts  at  social  service  and 
positive  living.  Yet  as  compared  with  Burma  or  with 
Christian  lands,  the  predominating  note  among  Bud¬ 
dhists  in  Ceylon  is  one  of  world-weariness  and  de¬ 
spair.  Christianity  lays  hold  of  all  ranks  of  people. 
Its  message  uplifts  and  ennobles.  It  develops  the  gifts 
of  its  followers,  discovering  new  abilities.  It  places  all 
people,  Western  and  Oriental  alike,  on  the  plane  of 
brotherhood  and  of  partnership  in  the  work  of  world  bet¬ 
terment.  It  does  away  with  no  quality  which  adorns  hu¬ 
man  nature  and  encourages  every  action  which  leads  to 
real  human  happiness.  Christianity  can  accept  and  honor 
all  the  liner  side  of  Buddhism,  lifting  its  devotees  at  the 
same  time  out  of  their  apathy  or  despair. 

Christianity’s  prospects  in  Ceylon  are  quite  full  of 
hope.  One  in  every  ten  of  the  islanders  today  is  reported 
to  be  a  Christian.  If  this  is  true,  the  outlook  is  bright, 
whenever  this  one-tenth  of  the  people  really  manifest 
their  faith,  and  whenever  Western  Christianity  is  equally 
loyal  to  its  own  standards  and  wisely  aggressive  in  its 
friendly  approach. 

Even  as  matters  stand,  the  way  ought  to  be  open  for 
true  idealists,  whether  Christian,  Buddhist,  Moham¬ 
medan  or  Hindu,  to  cooperate  much  more  freely  and  with 
more  mutual  sympathy  in  great  social  programs.  There 
should  be  a  religious  league  of  peoples,  a  great  brother¬ 
hood,  promoting  education  and  social  hygiene,  lighting 
disease  and  uplifting  the  ignorant  and  degraded.  Such 
friendly  cooperation  will  help  to  bring  all  true  seekers 
after  God  into  harmony.  Moreover,  it  would  mean  an 
ultimate  Christianity,  since  Christianity  is  the  only  re¬ 
ligion  broad  enough  and  simple  enough  to  be  entirely  in¬ 
clusive  of  the  spiritual  truths  of  other  religions.  It  would, 
however,  mean  something  other  than  a  Western  Chris¬ 
tianity,  for  to  it  the  Eastern  peoples  would  contribute  much 


36  BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

out  of  their  stores  of  insight  into  the  very  heart  of  real 
religion. 

The  Sinhalese  afford  an  inspiring  objective  for  the 
Christian  missionary.  Their  devotion  to  the  Buddha  as 
well  as  their  moral  and  social  helplessness  make  them 
worth  the  winning.  They  have  gifts  to  lay  at  the  feet  of 
Christ.  They  may  soon  he  doing  their  share  in  the  es¬ 
tablishment  of  His  Kingdom  of  love  and  truth  through¬ 
out  the  great  world  of  inner  Asia :  for  they  have  a  Chris¬ 
tian  community  large  and  wealthy  enough  to  be  self- 
propagating. 


IV 


BUDDHISM  IN  SIAM 

Ceylon  and  Burma  were  for  many  centuries  Buddhist 
kingdoms.  The  Sinhalese  sovereign  at  Kandy  could  trace 
back  his  ancestry  in  a  direct  line  for  almost  two  thousand 
years.  These  kings  were  the  patrons  of  the  hierarchy  with 
its  innumerable  monks  and  rejoiced  to  contribute  to  their 
support.  Not  infrequently,  members  of  the  royal  family 
were  abbots  of  the  huge  monasteries.  Indeed,  the  rapid 
development  of  Buddhism  was  in  part  the  result  of  the 
steady  and  generous  patronage  of  sovereigns,  who  took  the 
great  Asoka  of  India  as  their  pattern. 

Since  1815  in  Ceylon,  and  since  1886  in  Burma,  royalty 
has  ceased  to  function,  so  that  Buddhism  has  been  obliged 
to  get  along  by  its  own  efforts.  In  neither  kingdom  has  the 
British  government  ever  attempted  to  belittle  the  Buddhist 
religious  authorities  or  to  minimize  their  claims  to  re¬ 
spect.  It  remains  entirely  neutral  in  religious  matters, 
guaranteeing  to  every  subject  the  absolute  right  to  wor¬ 
ship  in  his  own  way,  unless  that  way  involves  the  taking 
of  human  life  or  some  gross  interference  with  social 
freedom. 

Something  of  the  same  attitude  is  found  on  the  part 
of  the  French  in  French  Indo-China,  which  is  another 
Buddhist  land.  The  Buddhism  which  prevails  there,  to 
be  sure,  is  of  a  rather  vague,  tolerant  type.  It  shows 
traces  of  Chinese  influence  in  the  prevalence  of  ancestor- 
worship.  It  is  really  in  the  main  a  demon-worship.  Its 
customs  are  so  far  from  typical  that  they  will  be  over- 

37 


38  BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

looked  in  this  volume.  Moreover,  Indo-China  is  not  to 
any  great  extent  an  objective  of  Aanerican  or  British 
Protestant  missionary  activity.  The  French  people  do  not 
welcome  our  missionaries  to  their  colonial  possessions. 
Roman  Catholic  missionaries  have  predominated  in  the 
past  and  are  likely  to  do  so  in  days  to  come,  since  the 
Protestant  Church  of  France  is  small. 

1.  Siam  a  Buddhist  Kingdom 

In  contrast  with  all  these  countries  is  Siam.  It  is  today 
a  Buddhist  kingdom.  Its  sovereign,  an  absolute  monarch, 
is  a  staunch  patron  and  defender  of  the  faith.  His  own 
brother  stands  at  the  head  of  the  monastic  order  in  Siam. 
Thus,  conditions  there  now  are  not  unlike  those  which 
prevailed  in  Ceylon  centuries  ago.  Since  the  king  is  well 
educated,  a  graduate  of  Oxford,  the  Siam  of  today  is  far 
in  advance  of  the  conditions  which  prevailed  in  early 
times.  Christian  missions  are  not  forbidden.  Out  of  the 
population  of  six  and  a  half  millions,  there  are  some 
fifty  thousand  Christians,  half  of  them  Roman  Catholics. 
The  sovereign  and  his  people  desire  to  modernize 
Buddhism  and  to  make  it  the  basis  for  a  progressive  and 
uplifting  civilization.  Siam  opens  wide  her  door  to  every 
influence  which  helps  to  build  up  the  national  life.  The 
ruler  values  the  friendship  of  Western  peoples  and  grate¬ 
fully  acknowledges  the  medical,  philanthropic  and  educa¬ 
tional  work  carried  on  by  the  missionaries.  Nevertheless, 
he  is  a  staunch  Buddhist.  Thus  Siam  is  an  interesting 
example  of  a  free  Buddhist  people  doing  their  best  to 
develop  their  religion  into  a  faith  which  comports  with 
modern  ideas  and  makes  use  of  modern  methods. 

2.  Public  Worship  in  Siam, 

In  Siam,  as  in  Burma  and  Ceylon,  the  monks  are  nu¬ 
merous  and  very  influential.  The  habit,  already  alluded  to 


BUDDHISM  IN  SIAM 


39 


in  the  description  of  religious  life  in  Burma,  of  giving 
every  youth  a  probational  novitiate  in  the  monastic  order 
for  at  least  a  few  months  is  quite  generally  observed. 
Even  those  who  have  been  abroad  for  an  education  don  the 
yellow  robe  for  a  period  on  their  return  to  Siam.  This 
custom  serves  to  offset  the  skepticism  which  is  the  more 
or  less  certain  effect  of  contact  with  modern  progress. 
Such  dissenters  find  enough  to  approve  in  the  ethics  of 
Buddhism  to  keep  them  from  active  revolt. 

There  is  little  public  worship  in  Siam  in  the  Christian 
sense  of  the  word.  There  is  a  regular  day  set  aside  for 
worship,  but  few  attend  the  temples  on  that  day  and 
most  of  those  who  do  go  are  women  and  children.  The 
popular  expression  of  devotion  comes  through  religious 
or  semi-religious  ceremonials.  Great  functions  of  one 
sort  or  another  are  continually  held  to  the  great  delight 
and  pride  of  the  people,  who  never  fail  to  turn  out  in  force 
to  view  the  processions  of  dignitaries.  One  of  the  most 
noteworthy  and  characteristic  of  these  ceremonial  oc¬ 
casions  is  the  annual  visitation  of  the  sovereign  to  the 
temples  of  the  capital,  Bangkok,  which  are  under  his 
patronage. 

3.  The  Thot  Krathin  Festival 

At  some  time  between  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  moons 
(November)  this  great  event  occupies  all  Siam.  For 
weeks,  every  household,  from  the  retinue  of  the  sovereign 
himself  to  the  home  of  the  humblest  peasant  farmer,  has 
been  busy  “laying  down  holy  cloth,”  or  making  patchwork 
robes  for  the  monks,  that  the  letter  of  the  old  command¬ 
ment,  “Be  ye  clothed  in  rags,”  may  be  observed,  and 
the  monks  be  supplied  with  their  year’s  clothing.  At  the 
same  time  offerings  of  bedding,  furniture  and  food  are 
made,  great  merit  being  acquired  by  the  faithful.  The 
king  in  his  splendid  barge  of  state,  with  its  prow  shaped 


40 


BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 


like  a  dragon,  its  sixty  oarsmen,  and  its  canopy  of  cloth 
of  gold,  sets  ont  for  one  of  the  great  wats  or  temples.  He 
is  seated  on  his  throne  and  wears  a  golden  crown;  round 
about  him  are  numerous  little  princes.  Arrived  at  the 
shrine  his  retainers  carry  the  bales  of  cloth  and  the  other 
offerings  into  the  temple,  and  then  the  king  himself,  with 
due  ceremony  and  amid  barbaric  music  and  military 
salutes,  disembarks  from  the  barge  and  lights  five  candles 
which  are  standing  upon  the  table  in  the  temple  prepared 
for  his  offering.  Then,  burning  incense,  he  bows  to  the 
image  of  the  Buddha,  to  the  sacred  books  written  on  strips 
of  palm-leaf  and  to  the  assembled  monks;  he  is  “taking 
refuge”  in  the  Buddhist  Jewels.  He  then  reverently  asks 
the  abbot  to  accept  him  as  a  lay-adherent  and  to  allow  him 
to  keep  the  “Five  Precepts,”  not  to  kill,  not  to  steal,  not  to 
commit  sexual  sin,  not  to  lie,  nor  to  drink  strong  drink. 
And  if  it  be  a  holy  day  he  will  also  take  the  vows  of  a 
monk,  not  to  eat  after  midday,  not  to  watch  theatrical 
shows,  nor  use  perfumes,  nor  sleep  on  a  high,  luxurious 
bed.  Then  he  offers  his  gifts  which  the  monks  accept 
with  the  word,  Sadhu ,  “Amen”  or  “Well  done!”  A 
distribution  is  made  according  to  their  rank,  and  then 
with  a  chorus  of  blessings  from  the  grateful  monks  the 
king,  after  bowing  again  to  the  Three  Jewels,  makes  his 
stately  departure,  going  to  another  shrine,  where  the  same 
ceremonies  are  repeated.  The  widespread  public  interest 
in  this  festival,  and  its  importance  as  a  stated  annual 
event  give  it  some  such  rank  among  the  Siamese  as  Christ¬ 
mas  has  for  Western  peoples,  a  time  of  good  cheer  and 
cheerful  giving  with  a  religious  sanction. 

4.  The  Wats  or  Temples 

In  Siam,  as  everywhere  in  Buddhism,  there  are  count¬ 
less  pagodas.  As  in  Burma  these  are  made  attractive 
with  much  golden  ornamentation  and  with  colored 


BUDDHISM  IN  SIAM 


41 


tiles.  They  are  of  four  grades.  The  finest  are 
those  built  by  the  king,  the  next  best  are  those  built 
by  the  princes,  then  come  those  built  by  the  nobles,  and, 
finally,  those  built  by  the  common  people,  usually  by  a  sub¬ 
scription  organized  by  the  monks  or  by  some  enthusiastic 
layman.  The  erection  of  such  sacred  structures  is  thought 
to  be  a  sure  means  of  gaining  much  “merit,”  which  will 
counterbalance  a  good  number  of  evil  deeds.  The  gaining 
of  such  “merit”  has  been  said  to  be  the  very  sum  and  sub¬ 
stance  of  Siamese  Buddhism.  There  is  some  truth  in  this 
saying  and  it  applies  to  all  Southern  Asia.  A  Buddhist 
is  always  on  the  look-out  to  accumulate  merit  and  reckons 
up  every  atom  of  deserving  activity.  Yet  this  tendency — 
natural  in  a  religion  which  glorifies  merit  and  assigns  fu¬ 
ture  rewards  on  its  basis — does  not  do  away  with  a  genuine 
devotion  to  the  other  aspects  of  Buddhism.  The  heart  of 
an  Asiatic  saint  is  as  free  from  calculation  as  that  of 
any  devotee.  But  real  saints  are  rare  in  all  parts  of  the 
world. 

Around  these  temples  the  religious  life  of  the  people 
centers,  yet  less  definitely  and  continuously  than  in  Cey¬ 
lon  or  Burma.  The  trend  of  Buddhism,  as  encouraged  in 
Siam,  is  to  emphasize  its  ethical  value  and  its  impulses 
in  the  direction  of  social  uplift.  The  majority  of  the 
people  follow  their  king  in  believing  that  Buddhism  can  be 
made  the  basis  for  a  truly  modern  state,  worthy  to  rank 
with  Christian  countries  of  the  West. 

5.  The  King  and  Pali  Learning 

The  present  king,  whom  we  may  call,  for  short,  King 
Maha  Mongkut  or  Rama  VI — he  has  more  names  than 
a  Hohenzollern — the  sixth  sovereign  of  the  dynasty,  is  a 
graduate  of  Oxford,  a  man  of  the  world,  and  a  great  patron 
of  Buddhist  scholarship.  This  has  been  a  tradition  of  his 
house  for  centuries.  In  no  small  degree  is  the  present  in- 


42  BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

terest  in  Pali  learning  in  Western  countries  due  to  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  ruling  house  of  Siam,  which  has  pre¬ 
sented  splendid  libraries  of  the  sacred  books  to  many 
universities  and  temples.  Every  three  years  the  king 
summons  the  monkish  candidates  for  degrees  m  Pali 
learning  to  undergo  examinations.  Eor  nine  days  in  the 
comparatively  cool  weather  of  the  early  part  of  the  year 
he  makes  a  royal  festival  in  their  honor,  during  which 
time  the  candidates  are  undergoing  tests  which  increase 
every  day  in  stiffness.  Those  who  survive  to  the  end  are 
(riven  the  degree  Pareean  ek  or  “first  class  honors,”  with 
which  goes  a  small  pension ;  those  who  drop  out  before  the 
end  may  be  given  second,  third  or  fourth  class  degrees. 
So  the  knowledge  of  the  sacred  books  is  kept  alive.  Some 
of  these  native  scholars,  here  as  in  Ceylon  and  Burma, 
reach  a  remarkable  degree  of  proficiency. 


6.  Buddhist  Education  _  _ 

Education  is  highly  valued  in  Siam,  just  as  in  Burma. 
The  many  monasteries  which  brighten  the  landscape  are 
the  elementary  schoolhouses  and  the  monks  are  the 
teachers.  The  system  which  encourages  every  lad  to  spend 
some  time  at  a  monastery  as  a  novice  provides  a  natural 
educational  period.  In  these  monastery  schools  the  hoys 
are  taught,  not  merely  the  rudiments  of  their  religion,  hut 
also  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic.  The  competition 
of  the  well-organized  schools  which  are  managed  by  the 
missions  led  to  the  establishment  in  1903  by  the  govern¬ 
ment  of  provincial  training  colleges  for  the  instruction  in 
teaching  methods  of  the  priests  and  of  laymen  who  are 
teachers.  Through  these  better  qualified  teachers  the 
monastic  schools  are  gradually  being  brought  into  line  with 
the  educational  organization  of  the  government,  which 
aims  to  be  efficient  in  accord  with  modern  standards.  For 
the  education  of  girls  far  less  is  done  in  Siam,  yet  even 


BUDDHISM  IN  SIAM 


43 


their  opportunities  are  improving  under  the  quiet  pressure 
of  the  good  results  gained  in  mission  schools. 

7.  Christianity’s  Outlook  in  Siam 

The  very  progressiveness  of  Siam  makes  it  more  difficult 
for  Christian  missions  to  make  progress.  King  and  people 
are  not  unfriendly,  but  their  welcome  is  for  the  social 
service  of  Christianity  rather  than  for  new  ethical  or 
spiritual  ideas.  It  may  be  counted  as  a  very  important 
fact,  however,  that  the  philanthropic  and  intellectual 
ideals  of  Christianity  are  received  with  genuine  favor. 
These  are  not  the  least  significant  results  of  mission  work. 


V 


THREE  TYPICAL  FUNERAL  SCENES 

Buddhism,  like  Christianity,  makes  muck  of  the  next 
world.  It  plays  almost  its  chief  part  on  funeral  occasions. 
Its  rapid  acceptance  by  Asiatic  peoples  who  were  wholly 
given  over  to  demon  worship  was  in  large  measure  due  to 
its  spirituality,  to  its  emphasis  on  a  future  life,  and  to 
its  denial  of  final  significance  in  the  everyday  life  one 
lives.  The  true  character  of  the  Buddhism  of  a  country 
is,  therefore,  illustrated  in  its  dealings  with  those  who 
die. 

1.  The  Funeral  Rites  of  a  Burmese  Monh 

When  a  senior  Burmese  monk  (a  Hpongyi )  dies  the 
whole  countryside  attends  the  imposing  funeral.  In  cloth¬ 
ing  of  exquisite  silk,  resembling  a  brilliant  swarm  of  but¬ 
terflies,  the  people  surround  the  great  catafalque,  blazing 
with  tinsel  and  gold  leaf,  on  which  lies  the  embalmed 
body  of  the  monk.  In  course  of  time  the  coffin  is  taken 
down,  and  a  programme  of  merry-making  begins.  The 
young  bloods  of  the  village  to  which  the  monk  has  be¬ 
longed  range  themselves  in  two  carefully  picked  teams 
on  either  side  of  the  coffin.  Then  begins  a  tug  of  war  to 
see  which  shall  possess  the  coffin,  the  victorious  team  treat¬ 
ing  the  defeated  to  drinks,  and  to  side  shows  at  the  little 
booths  which  cluster  round,  awaiting  custom.  These  and 
other  contests  make  a  joyful,  even  boisterous  scene  over 
which  all  the  people  rejoice,  for  has  not  the  good  man 
been  released  from  this  transient  life,  which,  neverthe- 

44 


THREE  TYPICAL  FUNERAL  SCENES  45 

less,  is  good  and  satisfying  while  blood  is  hot  and  youth 
endures?  Has  he  not  returned  to  a  life  of  glory,  they 
remark,  and  won  much  merit  for  his  own  folk  and  for  all 
the  faithful  ? 

In  due  time  the  body  is  restored  to  its  resting-place  on 
the  funeral-pyre,  the  fire  is  lighted,  and  the  whole  mass 
flares  up  in  flame  and  smoke,  consuming  not  only  the 
body,  but  along  with  it  the  decorations,  including  paint¬ 
ings  of  numerous  demons,  among  whom  may  be  a  Euro¬ 
pean  with  a  gun !  Only  demons,  they  argue,  can  kill  for 
sport !  1  When  the  body  has  been  consumed,  the  crowd  dis¬ 
perses  with  shouts  of  merriment,  well  content,  not  least  so 
the  relatives  of  the  departed.  The  dead  has  been  honored, 
the  family  name  has  been  distinguished,  a  good  show  has 
been  staged,  and  everybody  is  satisfied.  If,  for  the  next 
year  or  more,  the  family  exchequer  remains  sorely  de¬ 
pleted,  still  “it  is  the  custom,”  and  every  one  expects  it 
to  be  followed.  Some  one  has  well  said  that  Buddhism  in 
Burma  is  a  cheery  and  social  affair,  “from  festive  mar¬ 
riages  to  no  less  festive  funerals.”  One  can  confess  to  an 
admiration  for  this  cheerful  view  of  death,  even  if  some 
of  the  expressions  of  it  are  bizarre ! 

2.  The  Cremation  of  a  Sinhalese  Abbot 

A  great  Sinhalese  abbot  has  passed  away.  It  is  a  na¬ 
tional  event.  The  hillside  near  Kandy  is  thronged  with 
great  companies  of  monks  in  every  shade  of  yellow  and 
brown,  while  around  them  surges  a  somber  sea  of  the  faith¬ 
ful  laity.  In  the  center  of  the  huge  assemblage  is  the 
funeral-pyre,  draped  in  white  and  red.  Standing  beside 
it,  a  monk  tells  in  sonorous,  mournful  tones  of  the  great¬ 
ness  and  goodness  of  the  departed,  who,  though  he  had  not 
become  worthy  of  Nibbana,  had  his  feet  surely  set  upon 
the  upward  path  leading  to  a  good  rebirth  in  So-wan ,  a 

1  Yet  many  of  their  own  people  are  mighty  hunters, 


46 


BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 


heaven.  Then  amid  solemn  chanting  and  the  wailing  of 
flutes  and  throbbing  of  drums,  torches  are  applied  to  the 
pyre.  While  the  people  bow  their  heads  and  cry  Sadhu, 
“Amen,”  the  body  is  reduced  to  ashes.  Then,  solemnly 
and  silently,  the  great  throng  disperses,  the  people  to  take 
up  the  ordinary  duties  of  life,  the  monks  to  meditate  upon 
its  transient  character  and  unreality.  And  here  a  young 
novice,  to  whom  the  dead  man  has  been  very  dear,  stays 
weeping,  until  the  last  embers  die  down  and  night  comes 
swiftly  on. 

3.  The  Funeral  of  a  Siamese  Prince 

When  a  nephew  of  the  king  has  died,  his  funeral  sermon 
may  be  preached  by  another  royal  prince,  who  is  also  a 
monk.  His  sermon  is  true  to  type  and  to  the  orthodox 
Buddhism  of  his  race.  It  is  drawn  from  the  Dham- 
mapada,  accepted  in  all  lands  as  the  veritable  words  of  the 
Buddha  himself.  “As  kinsmen  welcome  kinsmen  re¬ 
turning  after  long  sojourn  in  far  countries,  so  do  good 
deeds  welcome  the  good  as  they  enter  the  other  world. 
And  what  are  good  deeds  but  the  unselfish  effort  to  ad¬ 
vance  the  good  of  others.  All  must  be  left  behind  as  we 
enter  the  gate  of  Death ;  but  as  a  shadow  follows  the  body 
so  do  purity  and  simplicity  of  heart  and  deed  steal  after 
us,  and  minister  to  us  in  that  world  beyond.  As  a  flame 
is  our  mortal  life,  and  if  there  be  no  fuel  it  burns  no  more. 
We  know  not  when  it  may  die  down,  for  all  that  has  a 
beginning  has  also  an  end,  and  transient  are  all  things. 
And  as  we  may  take  with  us  only  virtue,  shall  we  not 
cherish  and  follow  after  it?” 

We  are  reminded  of  the  picture  by  G.  F.  Watts,  “Sic 
Transit  Gloria  Mundi,”  in  which  another  prince  is  seen 
upon  the  bier,  his  crown,  his  books  and  his  winecup  laid 
aside.  Over  his  bier  are  the  words:  “What  I  spent  I 
had,  what  I  had  I  lost,  what  I  gave  I  have.”  This  is  sound 


47 


THREE  TYPICAL  FUNERAL  SCENES 

Buddhism.  Many  in  the  long  line  of  kings  and  princes 
of  many  lands,  who  have  been  proud  to  wear  the  yellow 
robe,  would  reecho  such  ideas. 

4.  The  Real  Heart  of  Buddhism 

Which  of  these  funeral  scenes  (chosen  because  Bud¬ 
dhism  plays  almost  its  chief  part  at  such  times)  is  most 
true  to  type  ?  It  is  a  perplexing  question.  Buddhism  has 
from  the  very  beginning  been  chiefly  a  religion  for  monks, 
calling  men  and  women  to  leave  the  world.  It  was  never 
exactly  optimistic,  and  yet  another  permanent  root  of  its 
remarkable  power  over  mankind  has  been  that  often  men 
and  women  who  obeyed  its  call  gained  a  sense  of  dis¬ 
covery,  an  attitude  of  hopefulness,  an  atmosphere  of  sheer 
joy.  Especially  was  this  true  in  the  golden  age  of  Bud¬ 
dhism,  the  first  five  centuries  of  its  existence.  There  was 
something  vernal  in  the  air.  “In  joy  we  live,  hating 
none ;  let  us  live  in  the  midst  of  those  who  hate,  unhat¬ 
ing;  in  the  midst  of  those  who  ail,  let  us  live  in  perfect 
health ;  having  nothing,  yet  we  shall  possess  great  riches. 
This  was  the  expression  of  the  spirit  of  the  early  sangha.1 
When  we  study  the  Buddhism  of  today,  we  find  that  it  re¬ 
tains  these  two  dominant  characteristics :  this  blending 
of  sadness  and  quiet  joy.  Even  in  sunny  Burma  the  old 
people  and  the  monks  seem  sad  at  times ;  and  even  in  Cey¬ 
lon  and  Siam  the  ordinary  folk  are  fairly  cheerful,  as  they 
go  on  pilgrimage  or  make  their  offerings. 

1  Monastic  communit 


VI 


BUDDHISM  AS  A  LIVING  RELIGION 

Buddhism  stands  in  a  different  relation  to  Christianity 
than  any  other  world  religion,  because  it  has  unquestion¬ 
ably  done  for  Eastern  peoples  something  of  the  intellec¬ 
tual,  moral  and  spiritual  service  which  Christianity  has 
done  for  Europe  and  America.  Moreover,  it  is  showing  a 
strange  power  of  revival.  All  over  Asia  Buddhism  seems 
to  he  gaining  renewed  vigor.  It  also  seems  to  have  a  real 
appeal  to  certain  types  of  mind  in  the  West.  There  are 
little  groups  of  Westerners  in  Burma  and  in  Ceylon,  the 
former  Scotch,  the  latter  German,  who  have  for  some 
years  been  promoting  the  propagation  of  Buddhism  in 
Western  lands.  They  feel  convinced  that  Buddhism  is 
“the  religion  of  mature  minds.”  One  of  their  number, 
a  Scot,  known  as  Bhikkhu 1  Silacara,  wrote  in  1913 : 
“This  seems  to  he  the  place  of  honor  which  Burma  is 
called  upon  to  fill  in  the  family  of  the  nations  of  the  world, 
— that  of  being  dhammadayaka  to  the  world,  giver  of 
the  dhamma  [teaching]  of  the  Blessed  One  to  all  the  na¬ 
tions  of  the  earth.  What  prouder,  what  more  glorious, 
what  more  merit-bringing  position  could  any  people  ask 
for  than  to  be  chosen  as  the  bearer  of  the  sublime  teach¬ 
ing  of  the  Blessed  One !”  There  is  a  considerable  amount 
of  Buddhist  propaganda  today  in  Europe  and  America, 
even  though  few  Buddhists  from  the  Orient  are  found 
with  the  courage  to  preach  Buddhism  in  person  in  West¬ 
ern  cities.  The  propagandists  are  themselves  Westerners 

1  Sanskrit,  Bhikshu .  It  means  “mendicant.” 

48 


BUDDHISM  AS  A  LIVING  RELIGION 


49 


in  the  main.  In  Germany,  where  there  are  said  to  be 
large  numbers  of  Buddhists,  a  publishing  house  has  been 
set  up  at  Breslau;  while  in  London  the  “Buddhist  Re¬ 
view”  is  published  regularly.  In  North  America  there  are 
numerous  Buddhist  missions,  most  of  them  on  the  Pacific 
Coast.  Buddhism  is  the  principal  non-Christian  religion 
which  makes  such  an  appeal  as  this.  What  gives  it  this 
hold,  not  only  upon  great  sections  of  the  East,  but  also 
upon  those  who  have  been  born  within  the  range  of  Chris¬ 
tianity,  is  a  question  which  needs  a  thoughtful  answer. 
It  is  a  question  of  vital  importance  to  every  one  who  has 
at  heart  the  Christianization  of  the  world.  It  may  be 
faced  by  the  consideration  of  a  series  of  statements  re¬ 
garding  Buddhism’s  strong  features. 

1.  Some  of  the  Ways  in  Which  Buddhism  Resembles 
Christianity 

It  is  only  fair  in  describing  the  hold  of  a  great  religion 
upon  a  people  to  make  clear  its  religious  service,  as  that 
presents  itself  to  those  who  are  real  devotees.  The  fol¬ 
lowing  reasons  may  be  given  on  behalf  of  Buddhism’s 
grip  on  such  minds. 

(a)  Buddhism  Has  an  Appeal  to  the  Mind. — No  one 
need  hesitate  to  approve  many  of  the  ethical  teachings  of 
Buddhism,  and  to  recognize  its  great  influence  upon 
Asiatic  peoples.  It  is  not  difficult  to  draw  analogies  be¬ 
tween  the  acts  and  sayings  of  Jesus  and  those  of  Gotama. 
Buddhism,  moreover,  has  a  certain  appeal  to  the  philo¬ 
sophical  and  scientific  mind  which  is  not  found  in  any 
other  non-Christian  religion.  There  are  even  those  today 
who  seem  to  think  that  it  is  more  satisfying  to  the  pure 
intellect  than  Christianity.  The  appeal  of  Buddhism, 
therefore,  is  more  than  a  mild  satisfaction  of  curiosity  in 
something  novel.  It  gives  to  a  mind  which  denies  or  is 
unready  for  the  fundamentals  of  Christianity  an  ap- 


50  BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

parently  good  religious  substitute,  very  ancient  and  very 
persistent.  All  this  being  true,  it  follows  without  ques¬ 
tion  that  those  who  plan  to  go  as  Christian  missionaries 
to  Buddhist  countries  must  take  the  utmost  pains  to  pre¬ 
pare  themselves  to  meet  intelligent  adherents  of  Buddhism, 
not  merely  with  friendliness  and  a  sense  of  sympathy,  hut 
with  resources  of  philosophical,  psychological  and  re¬ 
ligious  knowledge  which  will  enable  them  to  declare  the 
best  that  is  in  Christianity  and  to  deal  sympathetically  and 
fairly  also  with  Buddhism  at  its  best.  Missionaries  are 
all  too  few  who  can  discuss  theology  and  philosophy  on 
even  terms  with  these  Scotch  and  German  Buddhists,  who 
carry  much  influence  with  the  peoples  among  whom  they 
live.  Some  of  them  are  sincere  and  able  men.  There 
are  also  strong  native  defenders  of  the  Buddhist  faith. 
Such  honest  defenders  cannot  be  ignored ;  rarely  can  they 
be  argued  into  silence.  Their  Buddhism  is  apt  to  be  of  a 
refined  type,  getting  its  inspiration  from  the  contempla¬ 
tion  of  the  gentle,  ascetic  life  of  the  Buddha,  from  his 
ethical  sayings  and  from  their  social  aspects.  Only  by 
the  demonstration  of  Christianity’s  type  of  life  and  its 
essentially  religious  basis  can  such  men  be  met  satis¬ 
factorily.  Moreover,  without  a  deep  appreciation  of  the 
real  power  of  Buddhism  no  one  can  understand  the  history 
and  culture  of  Asiatic  peoples  to  which  Buddhism  has 
given  a  unity. 

(5)  It  Recognizes  the  Fact  of  Human  Suffering. — 
Probably  no  one  can  fully  grasp  the  essential  teachings  of 
Buddhism  without  studying  Hinduism  and  its  philosophy 
as  a  background  and  starting  point.  But  the  student  of 
Buddhism  can  go  far  by  starting  from  the  fact  of  universal 
human  suffering  and  the  desire  for  its  relief.  “One  thing 
only  do  I  teach,”  said  Buddha,  “sorrow  and  the  uprooting 
of  sorrow.”  He  was  never  weary  of  bringing  home  to 
his  disciples  the  horror  of  the  world’s  pain,  in  order  that 


BUDDHISM  AS  A  LIVING  RELIGION 


51 


he  might  lead  them  on  to  what  he  believed  to  be  the  only 
way  of  salvation. 

“What  think  ye  O  monks,  which  is  vaster,  the  flood  of  tears 
that,  weeping  and  lamenting,  ye  in  your  past  lives  have  shed, 
or  the  waters  of  the  four  great  oceans  ?  Long  time,  O  monks, 
have  ye  suffered  the  death  of  father,  mother,  brothers  and 
sisters.  Long  time  have  ye  undergone  the  loss  of  your  goods; 
long  time  have  ye  been  afflicted  with  sickness,  old  age  and 
death”  “Where  is  the  joy,  where  is  the  laughter,  when  all  is 
in  flames  about  us?” 

Buddhism  is  often  labelled  pessimistic,  because  its  writ¬ 
ings  are  full  of  attempts,  such  as  these,  to  make  men 
realize  the  suffering  and  the  worthlessness  of  the  life 
to  which  they  cling.  Such  critics,  however,  do  not  realize 
the  hopes  which  it  also  holds  out  to  a  suffering  world, 
which  are  just  as  characteristic  of  Buddhistic  teaching 
as  the  pessimism.  The  Buddhist  declares  that  the  disease 
is  diagnosed  frankly,  in  order  that  it  may  be  cured.  “If 
medical  science  is  pessimistic  then  Buddhism  also  is  pes¬ 
simistic.”  Buddhism,  like  other  religions,  is  a  “way 
out.”  Naturally,  its  constant  emphasis  upon  human  ills 
and  their  cures  constitutes  an  appeal  which  is  permanent. 

( c )  It  Promises  a  Way  of  Escape  from  Sorrow . — In 
India  Gotama  had  an  easier  task  than  he  would  have  faced 
in  the  full-blooded  and  less  thoughtful  West.  We  West¬ 
erners  do  not  need  to  be  convinced  of  the  pain  of  life,  we 
are  now  widely  awake  to  it ;  but  to  the  Hindu  of  the 
sixth  century  before  Christ  a  conviction  of  the  emptiness 
of  life  was  something  in  the  nature  of  an  obsession.  The 
bright,  naive  optimism  of  earlier  ages,  revealed  in  the 
Rig-Veda /  had  passed  away;  a  combination  of  circum¬ 
stances,  climate,  speculative  activities,  disappointments 
and  other  causes  had  combined  to  make  India  pessimistic. 

lThe  Rig-Veda  is  a  great  anthology  of  primitive  religion.  The 
Vedas  are  the  early  religious  books  of  the  Hindus  in  which  a  joyous 
nature-worship  predominates. 


52  BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

Chief  among  these  causes  was  undoubtedly  the  belief  in 
transmigration,  which  had  come  more  and  more  to  occupy 
a  central  position  in  Hindu  thinking.  This  belief  rep 
resents  man  as  doomed  to  wander  from  birth  to  birth  and 
to  expiate  every  evil  deed  of  his  past.  It  is  scarcely  pos¬ 
sible  for  us  in  the  West  to  realize  how  firm  a  hold  this 
thought  has  upon  the  Oriental  mind,  or  how  great  is  its 
longing  for  a  way  of  escape.  Gotama’s  resolute  attempt 
to  find  such  a  way  of  escape,  his  assurance  that  he  had 
discovered  it,  and  his  enthusiastic  preaching  of  the  Way 
brought  Buddhism  into  the  world  as  a  new  religion,  and 
made  it  a  veritable  “gospel”  to  weary  and  jaded  hearts. 
That  good  news  is  still  an  appreciable  message  in  the 

East. 

(d)  Its  Founder  Diagnosed  and  Sought  to  Cure 
World  Evil . — Gotama  described  himself  as  “a  physician 
of  sick  souls.”  He  became  a  Buddha  by  reason  of  his 
discovery  of  a  way  of  escape  from  human  suffering.  Born 
the  son  of  a  small  chief  in  Nepal  in  the  foothills  of  the 
Himalayas,  about  560  b.c.,  the  young  prince,  Gotama, 
was  sheltered  from  the  sights  and  sounds  of  suffering, 
as  we  are  told  in  the  stories  of  Buddhist  lore,  until  the 
gods,  who  had  a  higher  destiny  in  store  for  him  than 
that  of  an  Indian  princeling,  were  ready  to  reveal  to  him 
the  facts  of  old  age  and  decay  and  death.  In  a  series  of 
visions, — of  an  old  man  tottering  down  to  the  grave,  of 
lepers  riddled  with  foul  disease,  of  a  corpse  laid  out 
for  the  burning — the  great  fact  of  human  suffering  came 
home  to  him.  It  made  so  deep  an  impression  that  he 
renounced  his  royal  rights  and  went  out  as  a  mendicant 
ascetic  to  discover  some  way  of  escape.  He  honestly 
tried  the  various  accepted  paths  laid  down  by  Hindu 
sages  for  the  attainment  of  holiness  and  for  escape  from 
the  burdens  of  life,  but  not  until  he  had  rejected  these 
and  determined  to  find  some  way  out  for  himself  did 


BUDDHISM  AS  A  LIVING  RELIGION 


53 


he  discover  what  he  was  seeking.  At  the  age  of  thirty- 
five,  sitting  under  the  Indian  Bo  or  fig  tree  day  after 
day,  he  meditated  patiently  and  long,  until  the  truth 
which  he  was  seeking  dawned  upon  him,  or,  as  we  should 
say,  until  his  subconsciousness,  which  had  long  been 
working  upon  the  problem  presented  to  it,  sent  a  com¬ 
plete  and  satisfying  solution  into  the  focus  of  his  con¬ 
scious  mind.  Recognizing  the  fact  that  Hindu  prac¬ 
tices  had  vainly  attempted  to  drug  the  aching  nerve  of 
pain  or  to  tear  it  out,  he  offered  a  more  positive  remedy, 
one  which  was  a  real  advance  in  the  religious  think¬ 
ing  of  that  day.  May  we  not  assume  that  the  Spirit 
of  God  had  much  to  do  with  this  discovery  ?  Some 
Christian  leaders,  perhaps  most  of  them,  may  feel  that 
this  is  a  dangerous  admission,  yet  Buddha’s  discovery 
may  have  been  a  stage,  taken  twenty-five  hundred  years 
ago  of  the  “upward  road”  which,  we  are  bound  to 
believe,  humanity  is  travelling  toward  a  full  comprehen¬ 
sion  of  God. 

In  order  to  understand  the  solution  which  Gotama  of¬ 
fered  to  the  world,  which  undoubtedly  satisfied  the  long¬ 
ing  of  unnumbered  millions  of  weary  pilgrims  in  India 
and  other  lands,  we  should  recall  the  fact  that  Gotama  de¬ 
scribed  himself  as  a  physician.  Just  as  a  physician  must 
first  diagnose  the  disease  and  recognize  the  germ  which 
is  its  secret  cause,  before  he  can  give  the  right  treatment, 
so  Gotama  set  himself  to  discover  the  hidden  cause  of  the 
world’s  suffering.  He  thought  that  he  had  found  it  in 
that  universal  clinging  to  life  which  he  called  tanhd,  which 
means  a  craving  for  any  state  less  austere  than  Nibbana . 
“From  tanhd  springs  sorrow ;  he  that  is  free  from  tanhd 
is  free  from  sorrow  and  suffering.”  According  to  Gotama, 
tanhd  is  the  source  of  all  the  world’s  agony ;  and  if  we  face 
the  facts  we  shall  see  that  the  “egoism”  of  men  and  na¬ 
tions,  which  is  a  form  of  tanhd,  is  indeed  at  the  root  of  it. 


54  BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

Could  all  selfishness  and  craving  cease,  much  that  creates 

and  develops  evil  would  be  done  away. 

(e)  It  Cultivates  a  Sense  of  the  Worthlessness  of 
Temporal  Things . — It  is  because  man  clings  to  things 
which  cannot  fully  satisfy  him,  such  as  the  love  of  family, 
the  desire  for  wealth  and  fame,  the  wish  to  be  reborn 
in  a  heaven — all  of  which  are  classed  together  in  Bud¬ 
dhism— that  he  has  to  go  on  being  reborn.  This  is  the 
Buddhist  doctrine  of  kamma.  Hinduism,  like  Chris¬ 
tianity,  thinks  of  a  soul  which  dwells  in  the  body.  The 
Hindu  thinks  of  it  as  passing  from  one  body  to  another 
in  the  process  of  transmigration.  The  tenet  of  Buddhism 
is  rather  that  the  “ego”  of  man  is  a  stream  of  mental  en¬ 
ergy,  the  direction  of  which  is  under  his  own  control.  If 
he  dies  full  of  tanhd,  cleaving  to  the  things  of  this  world, 
he  will  surely  be  reborn  to  some  sort  of  misery.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  he  dies  detached  from  human  interests 
and  open-eyed  to  the  worthlessness  of  temporal  things, 
he  will  eventually  be  set  free  from  the  entanglement  of 
life,  as  we  know  it  on  earth,  and  will  pass  into  Nibbdna. 
Of  this  goal  one  can  only  say  with  assurance  that  it  is  un¬ 
like  anything  known  to  mortal  man.  As  the  man  who  has 
not  been  in  love  cannot  understand  the  strange  behavior 
of  the  lover,  so  only  he  can  understand  Nibbdna  who  has 
experienced  it ! 

Nibbdna  means  to  the  Hindu  reabsorption  into  Brahma. 
To  Buddhists  it  is  variously  expounded  by  their  teachers 
as  either  personal  annihilation,  or  a  future  state  of  bliss, 
or  the  extinction  of  all  evil  desire,  which  means  to  them, 
of  all  clinging  to  life.  Western  writers  call  it  usually 
by  some  such  phrase  as  the  “great  peace,”  which  is  vague 
enough  to  mean  any  of  the  three.  One  may  fairly  say 
that  the  Buddhists  of  Southern  Asia  are  divided  in  mind 
regarding  the  content  of  the  final  goal  towards  which  they 
slowly  move.  But  they  have  such  a  goal  and  because  of 


55 


BUDDHISM  AS  A  LIVING  RELIGION 

if  they  undervalue  the  passing  life  of  the  day,  however 
important  it  may  seem. 

(f)  Its  Conception  of  Bliss  Is  Realizable  in  This 
Life. — Got  am  a,  however,  was  not  concerned  with  the  next 
life  so  much  as  with  this.  He  laid  emphasis  also  upon  the 
wonderful  joy  and  peace  which  the  fixed  purpose  to 
achieve  N ibbana  had  caused  him  to  experience.  This  was 
the  real  relief  from  suffering,  which  he  had  in  mind. 

“ Whosoever  is  pure  from  all  tanhd,  he  is  in  N ibbana. 
This  he  preached  with  great  conviction  and  enthusiasm, 
declaring  that  men  might  aim  in  this  life  to  attain  the 
position  of  an  arhat  (saint)  and  actually  enter  into  the 
preliminary  experience  of  N ibbana.  It  is  this  aspect  of 
Buddhism  that  makes  it  truly  a  religion.  Its  joy  and 
power  can  be  experienced  in  the  midst  of  the  world  s  pain. 
So  Buddhism  is  called  by  its  devotees  an  “island/’  a 
“refuge,”  a  “cool  retreat,”  and  by  many  such  alluring 
terms  it  makes  its  continuing  and  real  appeal  to  the  world- 
weary. 

(g)  It  Is  a  Religion  Which  Calls  for  the  Use  of  Judg¬ 
ment. — Buddhism  exhibits  salvation  as,  first  of  all,  a  way 
of  understanding.  It  is  a  religion  of  analysis,  which  bids 
a  man  to  see  life  steadily,  and  to  see  it  as  a  whole,  by  first 
taking  it  to  pieces!  When  one  looks  at  the  body,  what 
is  it,  says  Buddhism,  after  all,  that  we  should  regard  our¬ 
selves  as  attached  to  it?  There  are  so  many  bones,  so 
many  tendons,  so  much  skin,  so  many  juices..  If  a  .man 
views  the  body  with  an  anatomical  eye,  he  will  see  it  as 
it  really  is.  Disgust  will  arise  in  him,  which  will  lead  him 
out  into  detachment.  A  Buddhist  is  sometimes  urged 
to  form  the  habit  of  sitting  in  cemeteries,  or  of  having 
a  skeleton  near  at  hand,  in  order  that  he  may  meditate 
upon  the  transient  nature  of  all  that  is  mortal.  Similarly, 
he  is  urged  to  dispel  anger  or  lust  by  asking,  “Who  is  it 
I  am  angry  with,  after  whom  do  I  lust,  but  a  bag  of 


56  BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

bones  ?”  It  seeks  to  dispel  passion  by  the  exercise  of 
judgment. 

( h )  It  Has  Noble  Ethical  Teachings. — Buddhism 
places  ethical  action  at  the  very  forefront  of  its  require¬ 
ments  in  the  “Four  Truths”  and  the  “Middle  Way.” 

(1)  The  '‘Four  Noble  Truths — The  aged  Master, 
when  he  was  passing  away,  emphasized  afresh  the  part 
which  intelligent  belief  should  play  in  the  Buddhist 
scheme  of  religion.  “It  is  through  not  understanding  and 
not  grasping  four  things,  O  monks,  that  we  have  to  abide 
and  wander  through  this  maze  of  being,”  he  remarked. 
The  four  things  which  he  had  in  mind  were  the  fact  of 
suffering,  its  real  cause,  tanka ,  the  cure  of  suffering,  and 
the  path  which  leads  to  Nibbana.  They  are  the  “Four 
Noble  Truths”  of  Buddhism,  driven  home  to  every  dis¬ 
ciple  as  the  very  foundation  of  his  religious  life. 

(2)  The  “Eightfold  Path .” — With  reference  to  the 
“way”  which  leads  to  Nibbana ,  Buddhism  has  made  its 
most  remarkable  contribution  to  human  thought.  It  has 
been  called  the  “Middle  Way,”  between  the  extreme  of  an 
austere  asceticism  and  a  spirit  of  worldliness.  It  is  a 
clear-cut  and  admirably  arranged  ethical  scheme,  which 
has  undoubtedly  done  much  to  elevate  the  nations  among 
whom  it  has  been  practiced.  The  “eight  practices,”  urged 
upon  every  one  who  aspires  to  spiritual  growth,  are  right 
thinking  (about  the  “four  noble  truths,”  etc.),  right  as¬ 
pirations  (benevolence,  pity,  brotherhood,  etc.),  right 
speech,  right  action,  right  livelihood  (by  industries  which 
are  not  harmful),  right  effort  of  mind,  right  attention 
(alertness),  and  right  contemplation,  or  mystic  medita¬ 
tion.  Such  a  scheme  may  readily  be  ritualized  and  dead¬ 
ened;  but  it  lends  itself  no  less  readily  to  the  cultivation 
of  simple  virtues.  A  popular  summary,  universally 
known,  teaches  “Do  good,  shun  ill,  and  cleanse  the  in¬ 
most  thoughts ;  this  is  the  teaching  of  Buddha.” 


BUDDHISM  AS  A  LIVING  RELIGION 


57 


The  route  of  the  “Eightfold  Path”  is  usually  indicated 
under  three  main  heads :  enlightenment,  morality  and  con¬ 
centrated  meditation.  Stage  by  stage,  the  disciple  is  led 
along  this  path.  “Step  by  step,  day  by  day,  one  may 
purify  one’s  heart  from  defilements  by  understanding, 
even  as  the  smith  purifies  silver  in  the  fire.”  The  true  dis¬ 
ciple  is  urged  to  avoid  the  extremes  of  asceticism  on  the 
one  hand  or  o-f  entanglement  with  the  world  on  the  other. 
So  the  noble  path  claims  to  be  a  “middle  path”  of  sweet 
reasonableness.  In  practice  the  lines  are  not  always 
clearly  drawn  between  ritual  negligences  and  moral  fail¬ 
ures,  and  the  ideal  life  often  seems  to  be  represented  as 
primarily  monastic;  yet  there  is  no  doubt  that  one  who  * 
deliberately  sets  himself  to  follow  the  “Eightfold  Path” 
would  be  a  lovable  and  strong  type  of  character,  something 
like  the  fine  old  monk  from  Tibet  in  Kipling’s  Kim . 
And  there  have  been  many  such,  who  were  really  not  far 
from  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

( i )  It  Has  Come  to  Practice  Prayer. — In  spite  of  the 
protests  of  Gotama  against  attempts  to  persuade  the  gods, 
most  Buddhists,  even  in  Southern  Asia,  have  come  to  be¬ 
lieve  in  the  practice  of  prayer.  In  Tibet,  China  and  Japan 
prayer  is  often  multiplied  by  mechanical  devices,  such  as 
prayer-wheels,  prayer-cylinders  and  prayer-flags, — a  de¬ 
generation  of  mysticism  into  superstitious  procedure  which 
is  not  wholly  unknown  in  other  great  religions !  The  hu¬ 
man  heart  is  hungry  and  wants  to  pray !  So  even  this  re¬ 
ligion  based  on  enlightenment  and  on  the  fixed  causality 
of  the  universe  has  had  to  find  a  place  for  prayer.  Divine 
beings  have  been  called  in  to  answer  the  aspiration  of  the 
heart.  In  Burma,  Siam  and  Ceylon  Gotama  himself  has 
become  deified  so  that  folk  pray  to  him ;  in  China  and 
Japan  they  have  learned  to  love  such  compassionate  beings 
as  Kwanyin,  the  Chinese  goddess  of  mercy,  or  Amitabha, 
the  Buddha  of  contemplation,  thought  of  as  a  sort  of 


58  BUDDHISM  IN'  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

emanation  of  the  Uord  Buddha,  who  saves  men  in  his 
boundless  grace.  That  heaven  is  merciful  is  the  real  hope 
of  every  man.  A  believer  impersonates  the  thought  in 
these  ways.  Yet  it  is  but  a  pathetic  dream,  until  an  assur¬ 
ance  is  reached  that  God  has  already  declared  that  mercy 
in  the  “Word  made  Flesh.”  Buddhism’s  groping  after  a 
merciful  Being  is  a  potent  argument  that  the  supreme  act 
of  God  in  Christ  was  a  satisfaction  of  imperious  human 

needs. 

2.  Respects  in  Which  Buddhism  at  Its  Best  Is  Patently 
Inferior  to  Christianity 

In  contrast  with  what  is  said  above,  it  is  only  fair  to 
enumerate  several  respects  in  which  Buddhism  sets  a  def¬ 
initely  low  and  inferior  standard  as  compared  with 
Christianity. 

(a)  It  Emphasizes  Stoical  Self-mastery.  The  trend 
of  early  Buddhism,  as  seen  in  its  own  Scriptures,  is  stoical. 
It  sets  up  a  lofty  moral  ideal,  yet  offers  relatively  little  as¬ 
sistance  in  attaining  it.  Admiration  for  the  Buddha, 
faith  in  the  system  he  preached,  common  sense  or  en¬ 
lightened  self-interest  in  accepting  the  great  truth  that 
happiness  follows  upon  goodness, — these  furnish  the  mo¬ 
tive  power  of  the  Buddhist  life.  The  individual  takes  care 
of  himself.  In  theory,  at  least,  there  is  no  god  higher  than 
the  little  local  deities  who  are  said  to  have  bowed  down 
before  the  Buddha.  Since,  however,  they  too  are  sub¬ 
ject  to  tanha ,  the  gods  are  less  admirable  and  less  helpful 
than  he.  To  some  thinkers  this  stoical  self-mastery  is  the 
strongest  element  of  Buddhism.  “I  am  the  captain  of 
my  fate,”  a  good  Buddhist  would  say,  “I  am  the  master 
of  my  soul.”  But  to  one  who  thinks  more  deeply,  this 
attitude  appears  an  element  of  weakness,  for  everywhere 
and  in  all  ages  the  human  heart  finds  no  ultimate  satis¬ 
faction  without  a  belief  in  some  loftier,  purer  and 


BUDDHISM  AS  A  LIVING  RELIGION 


59 


stronger  being,  who  is  ready  to  hear  and  to  help.  In  the 
Mahayana  Buddhism  of  the  NTorth  and  Far  East  such  a 
theology  has  been  developed.  The  history  of  Buddhism, 
in  fact,  lays  a  capital  basis  for  Christian  apologetics.  The 
missionary  who  wishes  to  be  able  to  argue  with  Southern 
Buddhists  in  regard  to  many  of  their  technically  held  be¬ 
liefs  should  try  to  be  fairly  familiar  with  this  other  type 
of  Buddhistic  thinking,  which  is  really  more  spiritual. 

( b )  It  Has  Two  Standards  of  Morality. — A  very 
serious  defect  of  Southern  Buddhism  is  its  double  stand¬ 
ard  of  morality,  one  for  the  layman  and  the  other  for  the 
monk.  It  places  the  celibate  bhihhhu  (mendicant)  on  a 
higher  footing  than  the  layman.  During  the  Buddha’s 
own  lifetime  he  was  accused  of  making  many  homes  deso¬ 
late.  This  has  been  a  constant  criticism  in  China,  where 
it  is  a  crime  not  to  raise  a  family,  and  where  Buddhism 
has  yet  been  obstinately  monastic.  There  have  been  great 
exceptions  among  emperors  and  other  lay-Buddhists,  but 
Buddhism  is  on  the  whole  a  monastic  religion.  Its  true 
votaries  really  ought  to  leave  the  world.  Where  they  have 
failed  to  do  so,  they  have  been,  to  some  extent  inconsistent. 

( c )  It  Has  a  Low  Estimate  of  Womanhood. — Another 
alleged  weakness  which  will  especially  interest  those  who 
are  entering  upon  the  careful  study  of  non-Christian  re¬ 
ligions  at  the  present  time  is  the  relatively  low  place  which 
the  Buddhist  system,  at  least  in  theory,  gives  to  women. 
While  in  practice,  as  has  been  pointed  out  earlier,  the 
women  of  Burma  are  the  better  half  of  the  population, 
yet  in  strict  theory  they  are  not  human  beings  at  all.  They 
are  less  than  human;  only  he  who  takes  the  yellow  robe, 
and  becomes  for  a  time  a  monk,  can  reach  the  status  of 
full-orbed  humanity.  Gotama  said  many  severe  things 
about  men;  the  two  sexes,  he  taught,  are  a  snare  to  one 
another,  but  he  did  not  fail  to  add  that  women  are  the 
worse.  A  Sinhalese  Christian  pastor,  praying  for  power 


60 


BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 


to  resist  the  devil,  added:  “And  all  her  works!”  and 
women  are  in  fact  so  described  in  many  passages  of  the 
Buddhist  books.  Love  and  lust  are  not  distinguished  as 
they  are  in  Christianity.  Here  is  one  supreme  service 
that  Jesus  rendered  to  humanity;  he  made  family  life  a 
sacred  thing,  lifted  womanhood  to  honor  and  sanctity,  and 
rescued  women  and  little  children  from  abuse  and  scorn. 
Buddhism,  concerned  chiefly  with  the  monastic  life  of 
meditation,  has  not  much  to  say  about  the  family.  It  does 
not  teach  the  fatherhood  of  God,  from  whom  “all  families 
are  named,”  though,  after  some  six  centuries,  it  developed 
this  conception  of  the  Divine.  In  China  and  Japan 
Buddhistic  teaching  is  greatly  reinforced  by  the  teach¬ 
ing  of  Confucius.  It  survives  by  reason  of  what  that  has 
added.  Buddhism,  in  its  origin,  if  the  canon  truly  repre¬ 
sents  Gotama,  was  a  stoical  agnosticism  which  ignored  the 
gods,  and  bade  men  rely  upon  themselves  in  following  the 
path  of  goodness  which  leads  to  happiness.  Because  it 
thus  ignored  the  deepest  instincts  of  humanity,  first  by 
turning  the  thoughts  of  men  away  from  God,  and  again 
by  glorifying  celibacy,  these  instincts,  refusing  to  be 
snubbed,  have  taken  a  sweeping  revenge,  so  that  today 
Buddhism  survives  in  large  measure  because  of  the  very 
teachings  it  has  been  compelled  to  adopt  in  the  process 
of  molding  itself  “nearer  to  the  heart’s  desire.” 

This  may  be  illustrated  in  two  ways.  Nibbana ,  orig¬ 
inally  at  best  an  ideal  of  negative,  solitary  bliss,  has  been 
replaced  by  an  ideal  of  social  life  hereafter,  which,  among 
the  Buddhists  of  Southern  Asia,  has  entirely  supplanted 
the  original  idea.  Moreover,  among  them  faith  in  self- 
mastery  has  also  given  place  to  prayers  for  help;  or, 
among  the  very  conservative,  to  the  belief  that  there  is 
a  store  of  merit  gained  by  the  sacrificial  life  of  the 
Buddhas  throughout  the  ages  which  may  be  tapped  by  the 
faithful. 


BUDDHISM  AS  A  LIVING  RELIGION 


61 


Buddhism  has  thus  passed  through  a  tremendous  ad¬ 
justment,  quite  clear  to  any  careful  student  who  has  given 
close  attention  to  the  history  of  Buddhism  in  Southern 
Asia.  Such  an  one  need  only  compare,  for  example,  the 
simple,  austere  teachings  of  the  Dhammapada  with  those 
of  the  Saddharma  Pundariha 1  or  “Lotus  of  the  True 
Law,”  which  represent  the  Mahdydna  to  realise  how  great 
have  been  the  changes  in  Buddhism, — and  it  is  changing 
even  in  its  Hinaydna  form. 

1  See  “Sacred  Books  of  the  East,”  Vol.  XXI,  No.  18  in  the  bibliog¬ 
raphy. 


VII 


THE  MISSIONARY  APPROACH  TO  BUDDHISM 

IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

It  has  already  been  clearly  stated  that  the  full  strength 
of  Buddhism  can  hardly  be  understood  by  one  who  knows 
Southern  Buddhism  only.  The  Mahayana  type,  as 
worked  out  in  China  and  Japan,  may  be  regarded  as  more 
developed  than  that  of  Burma  and  Ceylon.  The  mis¬ 
sionary,  therefore,  who  seeks  to  carry  Christianity  to  any 
Buddhist  people,  must  try  to  make  himself  familiar  with 
the  wide-ranging  development  of  Buddhism. 

It  is  evident  that  Buddhism  in  Southern  Asia  has  as¬ 
pects  both  good  and  bad.  In  what  has  been  written  pre¬ 
viously  these  characteristics  have  been  emphasized  which 
explain  its  continuing  power  as  a  religion.  Buddhism  is 
not  mainly  a  philosophy  and  it  will  never  be  overthrown 
by  a  merely  intellectual  approach,  however  masterly.  A 
missionary,  while  he  must  be  intellectually  competent, 
must  also  carry  a  real  gospel,  and  live  a  life  of  contagious 
enthusiasm  in  service.  To  those  who  face  this  great  task 
the  following  considerations  may  be  suggested. 

1.  The  Buddhism  With  Which  Missionaries  Deal  Is  Not 
the  Theoretical  Buddhism  of  Gotama 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  there  is  a  marked  dif¬ 
ference  between  the  theoretical  Buddhism  of  early  days, 
reflected  in  the  standard  literature  of  Buddhism,  and  the 
Buddhism  of  the  present  day  in  Southern  Asia.  The 
Buddhism  which  some  Western  enthusiasts  are  eager  to 

62 


63 


THE  MISSIONARY  APPROACH 

introduce  into  their  own  countries  is  something  which  they 
have  learned  from  Buddhist  books  rather  than  fiom  the 
people  of  Buddhist  lands.  Captivated,  at  first,  it  may  be, 
by  the  beauty  of  some  isolated  saying,  or,  possibly ,  deep  y 
touched  during  some  moonlight  scene  near  the  gieat 
pagodas  of  Burma  or  on  the  hillsides  of  Ceylon,  they  e- 
come  eager  and  even  learned  students  of  the  Buddhism 
of  Gotama.  Those  who  are  sincere  among  them,  however, 
have  to  declare  with  sadness  that  the  great  bulk  of  the 
people  who  profess  Buddhism  have  wandered  very  ar 
from  its  principles  and  practices.  Real  Buddhism  is  too 
austere  and  difficult  for  ordinary  human  nature. 

2.  Its  Central  Emphasis  Varies  in  the  Three  Southern 

Not  only  does  Buddhism,  as  the  missionary  comes  in 
contact  with  it,  vary  markedly  from  theoretical  Buddhism, 
but  the  central  emphasis  varies  in  different  parts,  even 
of  Southern  Asia.  The  earnest  student  must  know  his 
country  and  its  people  in  order  to  know  their  Buddhism. 
Nothing,  for  instance,  can  be  further  from  the  sunny  tem¬ 
perament  of  the  Burmese  than  the  central  truth  of  Bud¬ 
dhism  that  “all  is  sorrowful.”  It  is  a  strange  perversion 
of  the  truth  which  claims,  as  some  Western  writers  have 
claimed,  that  the  Burmese  are  optimistic  because  they 
are  free  from  tanhd.  The  fact  that  they  have  come  to 
believe  in  a  good  Buddha  as  a  living  god  has  something 
to  do  with  it,  and  natural  temperament  has  even  more. 
They  are  Burmese  first  and  Buddhists  afterward;  Bud¬ 
dhism  tends  to  adapt  itself  to  their  nature.  . 

In  Ceylon,  while  Buddhist  ideals  are  better  suited  to 
the  more  melancholy  temperament  of  the  people,  yet 
people  and  monks  are  acutely  conscious  of  their  powerless¬ 
ness  unaided  to  gain  a  victory  over  sin  and  sorrow.  s 
in  Japan  and  China,  so  to  a  lesser  degree  in  Burma  and 


64 


BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 


Ceylon,  Buddhism  has  been  virtually  forced  to  substitute 
the  ideas  of  a  savior  and  of  salvation  by  faith  for  the  idea 
of  salvation  through  merit.  This  fact  is  full  of  encourage¬ 
ment  and  suggestion  for  the  Christian  missionary.  If 
the  mythical  Kwanyin  and  the  far-otf  Metteya  can  capti¬ 
vate  hungry  human  hearts,  why  may  not  the  historic  J esus 
be  enthroned  in  their  stead  ?  He  is  a  far  more  real,  more 
winsome,  more  arresting  and  more  majestic  figure  than, 
those  greatly  loved  beings  of  whom  Gotama  is  the  proto¬ 
type  and  human  need  the  begetter.  The  acceptance  of  the 
Christian  idea  carries  this  process  of  spiritual  growth  to 
a  real  conclusion.  The  wise  missionary  will  seek  such 
points  of  contact  as  he  may  find  in  the  Bodhisattva  ideal 
of  vicarious  sacrifice,  in  prayer  as  his  people  practice  it, 
in  their  yearning  for  peace  and  in  their  hope  of  a  heaven. 

3.  The  Qualities  of  Missionaries  to  Southern  Asia 
The  life  of  a  true  missionary  to  Southern  Buddhists  is 
surely  full  of  interest  and  variety.  Each  of  these  peoples 
has  many  attractive  qualities  and  a  long  history;  a  life 
spent  among  them  will  have  its  rewards,  attractions,  and 
assurances.  The  type  of  man  or  woman  best  fitted  to  bring 
home  the  good  news  of  the  Christian  message  to  either 
people  cannot  be  rigidly  defined.  Some  traits,  however, 
may  confidently  be  stressed  as  indispensable. 

( a)  Clear  Christian  Convictions. — What  these  peoples 
most  need  is  a  true  gospel  of  the  abounding  life,  a  message 
which  emphasizes  the  fatherhood  of  God,  and  a  demon¬ 
stration  of  fellowship  with  Him  through  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Savior.  This  message  must  be  lived  far  more  than  talked 
about.  The  successful  missionary,  in  addition  to  having  a 
clear  understanding  of  the  essential  content  of  his  mes¬ 
sage,  should  have  a  passionate  loyalty  to  Christ,  a  firm 
conviction  of  His  right  to  claim  these  attractive  peoples, 
and  of  His  power  to  make  them  truly  great,  and  a  willing- 


THE  MISSIONARY  APPROACH 


65 


ness  to  enter  sacrificially  upon  the  task  of  drawing  them 
to  Him.  No  other  equipment  will  make  the  missionary 
adequate  to  his  difficult  task. 

(S)  A  Willingness  to  Appreciate  New  Aspects  of  Old 
Truth . — It  is  very  desirable  that  the  missionary  should 
face  such  a  people,  themselves  creative  in  their  past  think¬ 
ing,  with  the  firm  belief  that  the  Holy  Spirit  has  guided 
nations  in  their  persistent  search  for  truth  and  is  still 
seeking  to  lead  them  on  into  fresh  realization  of  the  power 
and  meaning  of  the  truths  which  have  meant  so  much 
in  past  ages.  He  will  be  sustained  in  his  contact  with  the 
inner  soul  of  the  people  to  whom  he  goes,  not  alone  by  the 
hope  that  they  will  find  in  Christ  hitherto  undiscovered 
riches,  but  also  by  the  expectation  that  through  their  re¬ 
ligious  genius  and  past  experiences  there  may  develop  a 
deeper  insight  into  the  revelation  of  Christ  for  and  through 
His  Church. 

(c)  An  Attitude  of  Sympathy. — A  missionary  will 
make  very  little  impression  in  Buddhist  countries  upon 
the  people,  and  especially  upon  their  leaders,  who  is  un¬ 
able  to  put  himself,  to  some  extent,  sympathetically  into 
their  point  of  view,  so  as  to  be  able  to  be  friendly  toward 
the  better  aspects  of  their  life  and  beliefs.  There  are 
many  things  which  are  “lovely  and  of  good  report.”  A 
spirit  of  true  friendliness  goes  far  towards  establishing 
good  relations  with  the  people.  The  newcomer  to  Oriental 
lands  finds  it  no  easy  task  to  meet  the  people  on  their  own 
ground  without  exhibiting  a  spirit  of  patronage.  But  he 
will  discover  much  that  merits  respect  and  should  always 
keep  himself  in  a  teachable  frame  of  mind.  He  is  among 
them  as  a  student  and  learner  as  well  as  a  teacher  and 
guide. 

(d)  A  Sense  of  Beauty  and  of  Humor. — These 
peoples  are  lovers  of  beauty  and  enjoy  humor;  they  re¬ 
spond  readily  to  these  qualities  in  the  missionary.  Not 


66  BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

a  few  Westerners  need  to  develop  the  sesthetic  faculty 
and  the  imagination.  Some  people  are  unfortunately  so 
deeply  in  earnest  that  they  have  no  gift  of  humor.  They 
see  nothing  in  its  best  light.  They  can  never  pass  over 
troubles  lightly.  They  are  forever  misconceiving  motives, 
remarks  and  ideals  with  a  result  which  is  often  tragic. 
Such  people  had  better  avoid  Southern  Asia  and  the  career 
of  a  missionary. 

4.  The  Greatness  of  the  Opportunity 

God’s  Kingdom  will  not  be  complete  without  the  peoples 
of  Southern  Asia.  They  are  deeply  religious  in  tempera¬ 
ment.  They  have  had  a  truly  great  past.  One  who  works 
among  them  may  reasonably  find  encouragement  and  in¬ 
spiration  in  the  growing  conviction  that  the  type  of 
Christianity  which  develops  among  them  will  be  a  definite 
source  of  strength  to  the  Church  universal.  It  may  be 
no  idle  dream  that  God  will  grant  to  some  missionary  of 
today  the  privilege  of  training  a  St.  Paul  or  an  Origen  or 
an  Augustine  of  the  East  who  will  give  to  the  Church  an¬ 
other  great  chapter  of  Christian  interpretation  and  to  the 
Oriental  world  a  truly  convincing  apologetic  of  the  gospel. 
Our  Christian  civilization  is  challenged  today  by  many 
voices  and  from  many  sides.  Eresh  light  is  needed  from 
the  East  with  its  idealism  and  devotion  to  the  Unseen.  A 
Christian  Orient  will  mean  great  things  to  the  world,  far 
greater  even  than  a  Christian  Occident  has  meant.  More¬ 
over,  while  the  imagination  is  stirred  by  the  thought  of  the 
richness  of  the  gifts  which  have  been  given  to  the  Oriental 
world  by  reason  of  Buddha’s  “enlightenment”  more  than 
two  thousand  years  ago,  the  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ  are 
sure  to  carry  the  East,  as  well  as  the  West,  to  a  fuller  and 
truer  completeness  of  life.  With  confidence  the  mis¬ 
sionary  may  build  his  share  of  an  Eastern  Church  of  which 
Christ  is  the  Head,  yet  to  which  Gotama  Buddha  has 


THE  MISSIONARY  APPROACH 


67 


made  notable  gifts.  His  is  a  noble  calling  as  a  fellow- 
worker  with  God  at  His  age-long  task  of  winning  mankind 
to  allegiance  and  friendship  and  of  building  the  whole 
human  race  into  His  likeness. 


APPENDIX  I 


HINTS  FOR  PRELIMINARY  READING  ON  BUD¬ 
DHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

No  reading  or  study  can  take  the  place  of  friendly  inter¬ 
course  with  Buddhists  in  their  temples  and  homes  in  giving 
a  student  of  Buddhism  an  adequate  impression  of  what  it 
means  to  its  adherents.  Yet  those  who  wish  to  gain  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  Buddhism  as  a  religion,  especially  those  who  hope  to 
go  as  missionaries  or  as  students  to  Southern  Asia,  may  wisely 
take  certain  earlier  steps  toward  the  comprehension  of  the 
background  of  history  which  modern  Buddhism  implies. 

Such  a  student  should,  first  of  all,  try  to  gain  a  clear  con¬ 
ception  of  the  life  of  the  Buddha,  of  his  work  as  a  moral  re¬ 
former  and  of  the  secret  of  his  amazing  influence.  Sir  Edwin 
Arnold’s  well-known  Light  of  Asia  (No.  1  of  the  Biblio¬ 
graphy)  is  well  worth  reading,  if  read  as  a  legendary  rather 
than  a  historical  account.  It  gives  one  a  Buddhist  atmosphere 
and  an  enthusiasm  for  Sakyamuni.  A  recent  and  sufficiently 
comprehensive  study  of  the  Buddha  is  that  by  Saunders, 
Gotama  Buddha  (No.  26).  For  other  references,  see  the 
bibliography. 

Following  this  study,  the  student  should  saturate  himself 
in  some  short  summary  of  the  moral  teachings  of  the  Buddha, 
such  as  the  Dhammapada.  A  convenient  edition  is  by 
Wagiswara  and  Saunders,  The  Buddha's  Way  of  Virtue  (No. 
33). 

Then  it  will  be  well  to  read  some  of  the  Jatakas  or  birth 
stories,  which  express  in  folklore  form,  after  the  method  of 
^Esop’s  fables,  the  ideas  of  Jcamma  or  rebirth.  A  good  edition 
is  that  by  Francis  and  Thomas  (No.  10).  A  good  introduc¬ 
tion  to  Buddhist  doctrine  in  general  is  Saunders’  The  Heart 
of  Buddhism  (No.  27).  A  comprehensive  study  of  early 
Buddhism  is  found  in  Warren’s  Buddhism  in  Translations 
(No.  34).  It  should  be  in  every  careful  student’s  library 
for  constant  reference. 


69 


70  BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

It  is  also  desirable  that  every  student  should  gain  a  fair 
idea  of  the  place  of  Buddhism  in  the  civilization  of  the  East. 
Saunders’  The  Story  of  Buddhism  (No.  28)  will  afford  some 
impression.  Hackmann’s  Buddhism  as  a  Religion  (No.  13) 
is  more  detailed. 

Visitors  to  the  Orient  will  wish  to  have  a  little  fore-knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  specific  country  to  which  they  are  to  go.  In  re¬ 
gard  to  Ceylon,  Copleston’s  Buddhism ,  Primitive  and  Present 
(No.  3)  is  a  standard  book.  It  ought  to  be  found  in  any 
good  university  library.  Gogerly’s  scholarly  work  (No.  11) 
is  not  common  in  American  libraries,  but  is  very  valuable. 
Bigandet’s  Life  and  Legend  of  Gaudama  (No.  2)  treats  Bur¬ 
mese  Buddhism  thoroughly.  In  the  Encyclopedia  of  Religion 
and  Ethics  (No.  16),  found  in  every  good  library,  the 
Buddhism  of  each  country  is  treated  under  the  proper  head¬ 
ing,  as  well  as  almost  every  phase  of  Buddhist  thinking. 

Finally,  it  may  be  added  that  one  who  plans  to  enter  upon 
the  “noble  path”  of  religious  service  in  Southern  Asia  and 
seeks  to  develop  a  fitness  to  interpret  Christianity  to  the 
peoples  they  may  profitably  study  the  report  on  the  Presenta¬ 
tion  of  Christianity  to  Buddhists  (No.  22),  which  it  is  hoped, 
will  be  published  by  the  end  of  the  year  1923. 


APPENDIX  II 


A  BRIEF  BIBLIOGRAPHY 
(Prepared  by  the  editors) 

1.  Arnold,  Sir  Edwin.  The  Light  of  Asia.  New  York, 

Crowell,  1894.  A  poetical  presentation  of  Buddha  and 
his  teachings  by  an  imaginary  Buddhist  priest.  It 
must  not  be  taken  literally. 

2.  Bigandet,  P.  The  Life  and  Legend  of  Gaudama,  the 

Buddha  of  the  Burmese.  (TriibnePs  Oriental  Series.) 
Two  volumes  in  one,  popular  edition,  London,  Triib- 
ner,  1914.  The  standard  presentation  of  Burmese 
views  of  Gotama,  containing  a  legendary  biography 
and  a  description  of  the  life  of  the  Burmese  monks, 
with  a  full  discussion  of  NMana. 

3.  Copleston,  R.  S.  Buddhism ,  Primitive  and  Present ,  in 

Maghada  and  in  Ceylon.  New  York,  Longmans,  1908. 
This  edition  has  been  entirely  rewritten  with  additional 
notes.  Parts  V  and  VI  deal  specifically  with  Ceylon, 
pp.  177-241  relating  to  the  past,  pp.  242-287  to  the 
present. 

4.  Davids,  T.  W.  Rhys.  Buddhism.  Revised  edition,  Lon¬ 

don,  S.P.C.K.,  1894.  An  early  comprehensive  discus¬ 
sion  of  Buddhism,  written  by  the  foremost  English 
authority  on  the  subject. 

5.  Davids,  T.  W.  Riiys.  Early  Buddhism.  (Religions 

Ancient  and  Modern.)  London,  Constable,  1908.  A 
brief,  rather  sketchy  description  of  the  beginnings  of 
Buddhism. 

6.  Davids,  T.  W.  Rhys.  Article  on  “Buddha”  in  Yol.  IV 

of  the  Encydopcedia  Britannica,  11th  edition,  1910. 
A  first  class  article,  readily  obtainable. 

7.  Davids,  Mrs.  Riiys.  Psalms  of  the  Early  Buddhists. 

I — Psalms  of  the  Sisters.  London,  Frowde,  1909.  A 

71 


72 


BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 


rendering  by  a  competent  scholar  of  verses  attributed 
to  eminent  Sisters  of  the  Buddhist  Order.  They  ex¬ 
hibit,  in  a  beautiful,  sometimes  pathetic  way,  the  early 
impressions  upon  women  of  Buddhist  teachings. 

8.  Edmunds,  A.  J.  Hymns  of  the  Faith.  Chicago,  Open 

Court  Publishing  Co.,  1902.  An  excellent  and  readily 
obtainable  version  of  the  Dhammapada. 

9.  Eliot,  Sir  Charles.  Hinduism  and  Buddhism.  3  vols. 

London,  Arnold,  1922.  A  very  scholarly  and  com¬ 
prehensive  study  of  Buddhism  in  its  many  develop¬ 
ments. 

10.  Francis,  H.  T.,  and  Thomas,  E.  J.  Jatala  Tales.  New 

York,  Cambridge  University  Press,  1916.  A  represen¬ 
tative  collection  furnishing  the  best  of  the  typical 
stories  about  Buddha  in  the  incarnations  before  he 
became  a  Buddha. 

11.  Gooerly,  D.  J.  Ceylon  Buddhism.  Edited  by  Arthur 

Stanley  Bishop.  2  vols.  London,  Trubner,  1908. 
Rhys  Davids  says  that  Gogerly  was  the  greatest  Pali 
scholar  of  his  day.  He  died  in  1862.  This  volume 
consists  mainly  of  translations  with  notes  of  selected 
portions  of  the  Sinhalese  canonical  works  relating  to 
important  doctrines  and  usages. 

12.  Graham1,  W.  A.  Siam.  Chicago,  F.  G.  Browne  &  Co., 

1913.  Part  IY  is  devoted  to  Buddhism  in  Siam  with 
an  emphasis  on  festivals  and  ceremonies  and  the  in¬ 
termingled  Brahmanic  observances  and  spirit  worship. 

13.  Hackmann,  H.  Buddhism  as  a  Religion.  London, 

Probsthain,  1910.  An  enlarged  translation  of  a  Ger¬ 
man  original,  intended  to  present  Buddha  himself  and 
the  historical  development  of  his  faith  in  the  various 
Buddhist  countries:  the  author  writes  from  twenty 
years’  study  of  Buddhism  and  from  first  hand  ob¬ 
servation  in  Buddhist  lands  and  monasteries. 

14.  Hall,  Henry  Fielding.  The  Soul  of  a  People.  New 

York,  Macmillan.  A  wonderful  interpretation,  from 
the  esthetic  point  of  view,  of  Buddhism  and  spirit 
of  the  Burmese. 

15.  Hardy,  R.  S.  A  Manual  of  Buddhism  in  its  Modem 

Development.  Translated  from  Sinhalese  manuscripts. 
London,  Williams  and  Norgate,  1860.  Translated 
from  a  Sinhalese  manuscript  by  one  of  the  foremost 


APPENDIX 


73 


authorities  on  Southern  Buddhism,  to  answer  the  ques¬ 
tion  “What  is  Buddhism  as  now  professed  by  its 
myriads  of  votaries?”  Chapters  VII  and  VIII  are 

especially  useful.  , 

16.  Hastings,  James.  The  Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and 

Ethics .  *  New  York,  Scribners,  completed  in  1922.  For 
Buddha’s  life  see  Yol.  II,  pp.  881-885;  for  Burmese 
Buddhism,  Yol.  HI,  pp.  37-44;  for  Buddhism  m 
Ceylon,  Yol.  Ill,  pp.  331-334;  for  Siamese  Buddhism 

and  its' corruptions,  Yol.  XI,  pp.  482-485. 

17.  Karney,  E.  S.  The  Dust  of  Desire.  London,  ocott, 

1912.  A  sketch  of  Buddhism  in  the  days  ot  the 


Buddha  in  narrative  form. 

18.  Kern,  H.  Sacred  Books  of  the  East.  Vol.  XXI,  1  he 

Saddharma-Pundarika,  or.  The  Lotus  of  the  True  Law. 
London  and  New  York,  Clarendon  Press,  1907.  An 
important  early  Mahayana  book,  worth  reading  to  gi^e 
an  idea  of  early  Buddhistic  thinking  in  its  popular 
and  devotional  form. 

19.  Kipling,  Rudyard.  Kim.  New  Aork,  Scribners  or 

Doubleday.  A  fascinating  story,  one  of  whose  prin¬ 
cipal  characters,  the  old  monk,  while  belonging  to  the 
Tibetan  School  of  Buddhism,  has  a  close  resemblance 


to  Southern  monks.  >  _  .  * 

20.  MacPhail,  J.  A.  Asoka.  (Heritage  of  India  series) 

London,  Oxford  University  Press,  1918.  This  little 
book  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  early  missionary  move¬ 
ments  of  Pali  Buddhism.  v 

21.  Max-Muller,  F.  Sacred  Books  of  the  East.  Vol.  A, 

The  Dhammapada.  London  and  New  York,  Clarendon 
Press,  1901.  A  new  edition,  revised  with  the  help  ot 
Fausboll.  It  contains  a  valuable  introduction.  It 
can  be  found  in  most  college  libraries.  ^ 

22  Paul  C.  T.  The  Presentation  of  Christianity  to  Bud¬ 

dhists.  (Committee  of  Missionary  Preparation  re¬ 
ports)  New  York,  The  Committee  of  Reference  and 
Counsel,  25  Madison  Avenue,  1923. 

23  Pratt  J.  B.  India  and  Its  Faiths.  Boston,  Houghton, 

Mifflin  &  Co.,  1915.  Chapters  xvi-xix  describe  very 
vividly  Buddhism  in  Burma  and  Ceylon.  ^ 

24.  Purser:  W.  C.  B.  Present  Day  Buddhism  m  Burma, 
London,  Lay  Reader  Headquarters,  1917.  The  author, 


74  BUDDHISM  IN  SOUTHERN  ASIA 

long  resident  in  Burma,  gives  in  Chapter  IV  a  graphic 
account  of  Burmese  Buddhism,  in  Chapter  V  of  the 
animism  with  which  it  is  commonly  amalgamated  and 
in  Chapter  XVII  of  the  Buddhist  revival  in  that 
country. 

25.  Saunders  and  Purser.  Articles  in  the  International  Re¬ 

view  of  Missions  on  “Vital  Forces  of  Southern 
Buddhism  in  Ceylon”  (1914),  “Vital  Forces  of  South¬ 
ern  Buddhism  in  Burma”  (1915). 

26.  Saunders,  Kenneth  J.  Gotama  Buddha.  New  York, 

Association  Press,  1921.  A  recent  and  reasonably  de¬ 
tailed  life  of  the  Buddha,  intended  for  the  general 
reader  rather  than  the  technical  student. 

27.  Saunders,  K.  J.  The  Heart  of  Buddhism.  (Heritage 

of  India  series)  New  York,  Oxford  University  Press, 
1916.  An  anthology  which  brings  out  the  literary 
and  religious  beauties  and  the  living  forces  of  Southern 
Buddhism. 

28.  Saunders,  K.  J.  The  Story  of  Buddhism.  New  York, 

Oxford  University  Press,  1916.  Written  for  those  who 
are  not  experts  in  Buddhism.  Chapters  V  and  VI 
describe  specifically  the  forms  of  Buddhism  found  in 
Ceylon  and  Burma. 

29.  Saunders,  K.  J.  Buddhist  Ideals  ( A  Study  in  Compara¬ 

tive  Religion ) .  Calcutta  and  London,  Christian  Liter¬ 
ature  Society,  1912.  A  helpful  comparison  between 
Southern  Buddhism  and  Christianity.  Appendix  A 
contains  suggestions  from  many  workers  about  preach¬ 
ing  the  Gospel  to  Buddhists. 

30.  Scott,  J.  G.  Burma:  A  Handbook  of  Practical  Informal 

tion.  London,  Alexander  Moring,  1906.  In  Part  V 
the  author  gives  with  much  abbreviation  a  good  deal 
of  the  more  important  material  of  No.  31  below, 
bearing  on  Buddhism. 

31.  Scott,  J.  C.  (Shway  Yoe).  The  Burman,  His  Life  and 

Notions.  3rd  edition.  London,  Macmillan,  1909.  A 
most  picturesque  and  accurate  account  of  Buddhist  life 
and  worship  in  Burma.  Chapters  XII-XXII  are 
particularly  valuable. 

32.  Subhadra,  Bhikku.  The  Message  of  Buddhism:  The 

Buddha ,  the  Doctrine ,  the  Order.  Edited  by  J.  E. 
Ellam,  London,  Paul,  1922.  An  adaptation  of  the 


APPENDIX  75 

“Buddhist  Catechism”  of  the  same  author,  first  pub¬ 
lished  in  1888,  now  out  of  print. 

33.  Wagiswara,  W.  D.  C.,  and  Saunders,  IC.  J.  The 
Buddha’s  “Way  of  Virtue.’’  (Wisdom  of  the  East 
Series)  London,  Murray,  1912.  (Second  Edition, 
1920.)  A  rendering  of  the  Dhammapada  by  Mr. 
Saunders  and  his  Buddhist  teacher,,  formerly  a 
Bhifcku,  with  an  introduction  and  illuminating  notes. 
34  Warren  H  C.  Buddhism >  in  Tfcinslcitions.  (Harvard 
Oriental  Series,  Yol.  3)  6th  edition,  Cambridge,  Mass 
Harvard  Press,  1915.  This  book  covers  the  whole 
range  of  Buddhist  doctrine,  both  on  the  ethical  and 
philosophical  sides.  It  is  very  well  worth  working 

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